


twenty four days of wosomas

by preath



Category: Women's Basketball RPF, Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Accidents, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Hospital, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguing, Awkward Flirting, Broken Bones, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Lights, Christmas Movies, Christmas Presents, Cold, Common Cold, Coughing, Domestic Fluff, Drabble Collection, Established Relationship, F/F, Falling In Love, Fever, Fights, First Christmas, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Gift Exchange, Gift Giving, Hospitals, Ice, Jealousy, Light Angst, Light Dom/sub, Loneliness, Meet-Cute, Mild Sexual Content, Mild Smut, Minor Injuries, Mistletoe, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Office Party, Panic, Pining, Possessive Behavior, Resolved Sexual Tension, Secret Santa, Sexual Tension, Sharing Clothes, Shorts, Shyness, Sickfic, Sleepovers, Sneezing, Snow, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Ugly Shorts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 06:08:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 18,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21631384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/preath/pseuds/preath
Summary: an advent calendar of short woso fics, a chapter a day leading up to christmas. multiple pairings.
Relationships: Alex Morgan/Christen Press, Alex Morgan/Kelley O'Hara, Ana Romero/Merel Van Dongen, Ashlyn Harris/Ali Krieger, Kelley O'Hara/Christen Press, Lindsey Horan/Emily Sonnett, Megan Rapinoe/Sue Bird, Tobin Heath/Christen Press, Vivianne Miedema/Lisa Evans
Comments: 34
Kudos: 255





	1. look at the stars, look how they shine for you

**Author's Note:**

> day one of twenty four: snowfall  
> [preath]

Tobin stood at the window with Christen as she watched the snow sprinkling down from the sky. The piles of snow glittered like diamonds on the cold December night, but Tobin thought it couldn't hold a candle to Christen's forest green eyes, twinkling in the dim lighting.

  
  
  
  


She sipped at the mug of hot chocolate she was holding. ‘It's so beautiful out here. You can see the stars so clearly glittering in the sky.’ She spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, awe shining through in her words.

  
  
  
  


Tobin hummed in agreement, briefly glancing at the stars, which were more visible out here than they were at home, before returning her gaze to Christen once more.

  
  
  
  


Christen smiled, her sinful lips curving upward over the edge of her steaming mug. ‘You're not even looking, are you?’ Tobin could hear the smirk in her voice, could see the light rosy pink tint on the sharp edges of her cheekbones, just noticeable in the moonlight.

  
  
  
  


Tobin shrugged. ‘Why would I? I've got my very own star right next to me.’ She grinned goofily, the smile stretching across her face and dimpling her cheeks.

  
  
  
  


Christen giggled and turned to face her with a roll of her eyes, unable to keep the fondness out of her gaze. ‘Oh my god. You're such a sap, Tobin.’

  
  
  
  


‘Maybe. But you love that about me.’

  
  
  
  


‘I do.’ The words were spoken softly and Tobin felt warmth radiating from Christen’s words. She had expressed similar sentiments often enough lately that she knew that she meant them the same way she did. That in itself was a Christmas miracle.

  
  
  
  


Christen yawned, stretching like a lithe cat, and Tobin had to glance away when her movements lifted her wooly sweater to reveal the small strip of skin above her stomach. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, flicking her tongue out to wet her suddenly dry lips.

  
  
  
  


The scent of chocolate drifted to her nose when Christen pressed a light lingering kiss to her cheek. Her touch reminded her of how the snowflakes had fallen on them when they first got out of the car after arriving at the cabin. They had booked a small cabin up in the mountains for the weekend, just a short break away. Just the two of them, no Royals, no Thorns. Just them.

  
  
  
  


‘I'm gonna go wash this up.’ Christen spoke, allowing Tobin's curled arm to slip from where it was settled around her waist. Her fingers grazed the small strip of skin there before it dropped back down by her side. Tobin watched her walk away, letting her stare travel over the curve of her ass and swing of her hips as she walked. A secret smile tugging at her lips as she did.

  
  
  
  


Tobin drew the curtains across the window, ensuring to leave just a little gap that would filter some light through so that she could walk into the room the next morning, without bumping into something or stubbing her toe. She turned when she heard Christen's footsteps, soft in her socked feet, making their way back towards her. She was a vision glowing a warm red under the lights of the Christmas tree. Her hand reached out and tugged at hers. ‘Let's go to bed, babe.’

  
  
  
  


Tobin marvelled at the intimacy of Christen's words and gestures, silently thanking the universe for letting her have this as they entered their shared bedroom. Christen rummaged through her luggage, looking for some nightclothes, and Tobin did the same. Tobin didn't particularly wear much to bed but it was cold up in these mountains, so she made sure to pack an extra pair of soft plaid cotton pants that she could wear to bed. Neither she nor Christen had bothered to unpack properly yet, too tired and lazy when they finally trekked up to the cabin door on the snowy mountains, earlier in the afternoon.

  
  
  
  


Christen went into the attached bathroom, closing the door behind her and Tobin tried to not think about the fact that she was stripping off her clothes only a few feet away from her. She began to change into her pair of soft cotton pants before putting on socks to keep her feet warmer for Christen. Typically she hated wearing socks, especially to bed. She would happily walk around pretty much always barefoot if she could. But it was cold. Really cold. This cabin didn't seem to have any sort of central heating system or even radiators so they only had themselves to keep them warm. ‘So, is this everything you wanted?’ She called through to the still closed bathroom door. She could hear the sink running so she was sure Christen was just washing up and brushing her teeth before bed.

  
  
  
  


‘The cabin's beautiful, much more than I could have imagined.’ She called back through the door before opening the door, she quickly tried her hand on one of the hand towels before stepping back into the main bedroom and towards the bed.

  
  
  
  


Tobin smiled warmly as she scooted over on the bed as Christen moved to join her, pulling back the covers so that she could make room for her. 

  
  
  
  


Christen climbed onto the comfy bed and leant over to kiss her, pushing her back on the bed. Tobin curled her hands around her shoulders, moaning when her tongue swept through her mouth. She could feel Christen's hardened nipples pressed against her sleep shirt, pressing against her chest. Tobin longed to let her hands drift under her pyjama top, especially when she could smell the arousal radiating off her.

  
  
  
  


She eventually drew herself back and moved to lay down next to her. She leant her head back against the plump pillow, keeping her eyes tightly shut, panting harshly and bringing her body back under control. 

  
  
  
  


Christen shifted, pressing another kiss to her lips. Her fingers gently cupped her cheek during the tender movement that had all the love of the earlier kiss but less heat. She pulled away, looking into her eyes. ‘I love you.’

  
  
  
  


Tobin leant her forehead against hers, their breath mingling between them as she reached out to hold her hand. She pulled their joined hands between them and savoured Christen's adorable giggle when she kissed her knuckles. ‘I love you too, babe.’ She could feel Christen nuzzling her nose into the crook of her jaw and pressing a smile against her cheek. She leaned down to press a kiss into her natural curls, curling her arm around her waist to hold her tighter against her.

  
  
  
  


Let's get some sleep, hmm? We've got lots of exploring to do tomorrow.'

  
  
  
  


In a matter of seconds, she could feel Christen's soft snuffly breaths whispering against her shoulder. Tobin's lips curled into a tender smile as she adjusted her head against the pillow, her arm still curled securely around her girlfriend's waist as she too, drifted off to sleep.


	2. o, christmas tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day two of twenty four: decorating the tree (kind of)  
> [soran]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyy so this is probably rly shit :(  
> i'm in a super bad mood nd v tired so i haven't put as much thought or energy into this as i would have liked but i also couldn't keep putting off actually writing something for today so this is what ur stuck with i'm afraid :/

Lindsey had one hell of a day and what she meant by that was that she felt like she had been in literal hell. She hadn’t had a training session like that in a hell of a long time. Mark had been on her ass all day about this, that and the other and she was so close to snapping multiple times at him. Telling him to fuck off and storming her way back through the tunnel. All she wanted to do was go home, sink herself into the sofa and have a couple of beers. Maybe, a couple of cuddles with Em wouldn't hurt either.

  
  
  
  


But it turned out Lindsey’s bad day was just going from bad to worse.

  
  
  
  


She barged into the apartment she shared with Emily and instantly could smell something that she shouldn't be able to smell.

  
  
  
  


She shrugged off her thick wooly coat and hung it up by the door before pulling off her boots, she hadn’t even bothered to change out of them before she left Providence Park. She just grabbed her training bag and left. Giving Tobin no more than a quick glance and a grunt as she rushed past her and headed out into the parking lot. She let out a small sigh relief as her socked feet met plush comfortable carpet. If Lindsey had a choice she didn't think she'd ever choose to wear shoes. She hated how they squeezed around her feet and did nothing but make her feet feel sore after a long training session or a full game of 90 minutes.

  
  
  
  


She walked through to the living room, curiosity of the unfamiliar smell leading her there. 

  
  
  
  


‘Merry Christmas!’ Emily exclaimed, throwing her arms out wide with a proud look on her face, her cheeks dimpling as a wide goofy smile spread across her face.

  
  
  
  


‘What… what happened to the tree?’ Lindsey looked horrified as she looked at the monstrosity that was sitting in front of the window.

  
  
  
  


‘Well— you see— I sort of— it kind of— … It caught fire. The whole thing just went up in flames.’ Emily finally muttered awkwardly, squinting her eyes and reaching a hand up to scratch the back of her head as it tilted slightly to one side.

  
  
  
  


‘You what?’ Lindsey was looking at Sonnett like she'd just grown a second head. ‘How the fuck did you manage that?’ She quickly surveyed the room trying to assess the damage. 

  
  
  
  


Lindsey let out a loud sigh, rubbing at her forehead. ‘I really don't need this today, Sonny.’ She muttered wearily.

  
  
  
  


Emily's face dropped with a small frown, her brows creasing as she looked at Lindsey's tired demeanour with slight concern.

  
  
  
  


‘Bad day?’ Emily asked with a raise of her eyebrows as she started to approach her best friend.

  
  
  
  


‘Like you wouldn't believe.’ Lindsey turned to drop down on the couch, still casting a glance to look incredulously at the damaged tree all charcoal black with slight plumes of smoke still rising from it. 

  
  
  
  


She snorted and shook her head, turning to look at Emily with slight amusement as she dropped down beside her on the couch. ‘Only you, Sonnett. Only you.’ Anyone else looking in would say that she sounded fond but Lindsey would be the first one to deny it.

  
  
  
  


Emily grinned at her sheepishly, thankful that none of their other teammates were here to witness her true epic failure at trying to get the tree up before Lindsey came home. Maybe it was her rushing to finish it that caused all the damage. She just really wanted to get it done before Lindsey came home. She wanted to surprise her.

  
  
  
  


Lindsey arched an eyebrow at her, breathing out in incredulous bewilderment. ‘Seriously, how the ever loving fuck did you manage to destroy the tree like that, Sonnett?’

  
  
  
  


Emily let out a small laugh, shaking her head and holding her hands up in defence. Her clothes were all covered in ash and the palms of her hands had been stained black. ‘Dude, I don't know. Honestly. I think it was those shitty lights that you insist on keeping instead of just buying new ones.’ 

  
  
  
  


Lindsey snorted. Typical. Emily was the one who burnt down the tree yet she was the one getting the blame. Was it really her fault that she liked tradition and she didn't want to throw things away because she had some sort of weird sentimental feeling towards them? Hmm, probably.

  
  
  
  


‘You're such a dumbass.’ Lindsey just shook her head at her. ‘We're gonna have to buy a new tree and new lights now. And you are not allowed anywhere near it. You’re banned!" She warned as she turned to her, her finger pointed straight out at her. 

  
  
  
  


Emily chuckled with a roll of her eyes. She didn't mind, she hated decorating the tree. They both knew she was shit at it. 

  
  
  
  


‘Fine.’ She muttered, feigning offence. 

  
  
  
  


‘Go shower. You stink and you look like you've just come out of a chimney.’ She smirked, pushing Emily off the sofa. She barely resisted making a chimney sweep joke or point out the fact she looked just like one of the orphan kids from Oliver! Or Dick Van Dyke from Mary Poppins.

  
  
  
  


‘I'll clear up this mess.’ Despite everything, Lindsey's mood had lightened significantly. That tended to happen whenever she was around Emily, she lifted her up when she was feeling down. Always. She stopped herself from pondering on that thought anymore and got off the couch herself walking closer to the tree to take in the full damage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading this garbage!  
> also feel free to leave prompts & pairings in the comments and i'll try and get them written  
> peace out homies


	3. wish you were here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day three of twenty four: christmas party  
> [slight o'press & preath]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if there's any mistakes in this, this is already going up late so i didn't have time to proofread!  
> lil bit o'press bc i miss my og's but ends in preath. as always.  
> i'll try and write more pairings soon and change things up a bit. like i said before, if you have any suggestions of prompts or pairings, please leave them down below!  
> ok enjoy. <3

Christen was pretty drunk at this point, it was the annual end of year USWNT Christmas Party and she’d been here for a couple of hours. At first she’d been a little bummed out that Tobin wasn’t going to be here too but she understood why she wasn’t. She knew Tobin hated these parties and social gatherings but she was also looking after Morena tonight and couldn’t get a dog sitter not that she even tried to find one.

  
  
  
  


She had tried to convince her to come anyway but Tobin had just flat out refused every time.

  
  
  
  


But at least Kelley was here and Alex and Ali and Ash.

  
  
  
  


Christen and Kelley never hung out like this anymore. Once they finished college and left for different soccer teams they had drifted apart. At first, they tried, really tried, to keep in touch. Making sure to text at least once a day then FaceTime every weekend but that didn’t last. They both got so busy and over a period of months they began to drift further and further apart. Even now, with them both playing for Utah Royals FC, they hadn’t hung out like they used to. But it was parties or nights out together like this where they always somehow gravitated towards each other that made it feel like old times. Christen couldn’t lie. She’d missed this. She’d missed Kelley. 

  
  
  
  


They’d grown a lot closer again over recent months, after the World Cup win they’d both started to spend a lot more time together outside of these social gatherings and began texting each other more and more.

  
  
  
  


She’d always liked Kelley. She was cool and completely nuts but sweet and really funny. Especially after a few drinks.

  
  
  
  


Christen took a swig from her glass, she didn't even know what it was anymore. She just drank whatever was handed to her at this point. This one was a bright blue colour and tasted sickeningly sweet but she quickly downed it anyway, just narrowly slopping some of it down her black dress.

  
  
  
  


Kelley was beside her in a similar state, a dopey smile on her face and her eyes slightly glazed over.

  
  
  
  


‘I need the toilet. Come with me.’ Christen slurred her words slightly as she tugged on Kelley’s arm, she followed her willingly as they stumbled through the crowd of people and sought out the toilets.

  
  
  
  


Kelley waited, leaning heavily against the sinks as Christen used one of the cubicles. After she came out she walked over to the row of sinks to wash her hands before glancing up to check herself in the mirror. She wiped away the smudges of her makeup and reapplied some of it, the blur of alcohol had left her vision as she sobered up slightly. Just as she was finishing up her makeup, a thought popped in her mind. A wide smile spreading across her lips as she turned to face Kelley. ‘Hey, let’s take some pictures.’

  
  
  
  


Her voice was a little too eager but Kelley who had been fixing up her own make-up in the spot beside her just nodded her head enthusiastically before immediately regretting the action as it made her head spin and she suddenly felt really dizzy.

  
  
  
  


‘Okay.’

  
  
  
  


Christen grinned and scooped out her phone from her purse, she opened up the camera app and held the phone out with her hand as Kelley scooted closer to her so she was in the frame. They took one picture, then two, by the ninth picture they were doubled over with laughter. Christen took one after the other, both of them changing positions and facial expressions with each one.

  
  
  
  


‘Ooh, let me send them to Tobin. She’ll love this.’ Christen exclaimed, for some reason, her drunken mind thought this would be an excellent idea. Sober Christen would probably think it was a terrible idea.

  
  
  
  


Kelley looked a little sceptical but still nodded her head with that ridiculous grin. ‘Okay.’

  
  
  
  


The first picture that came through on Tobin’s phone had no caption.

  
  
  
  


Tobin almost jumped when her phone pinged in the deadly silence of her living room, Morena was curled up by her side, softly snoring and she was relaxing with her feet up reading some information on her laptop when she heard her phone go off.

  
  
  
  


She picked up her phone to find she had one text from Christen and she swiped her phone to unlock it to check the message. 

  
  
  
  


It was a picture. A picture she was not expecting.

  
  
  
  


It was Christen and Kelley, in the toilets. They were both pouting at the screen, arms up with hands held in their hair. Tobin wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, she just arched her brow and locked her phone again but it back down beside her before moving her attention back to her laptop.

  
  
  
  


It was only a few moments later when her phone pinged again and she rolled her eyes, she was sure she could guess who it was from.

  
  
  
  


Yep. Another picture message from Christen. Oh boy.

  
  
  
  


She opened her phone to find a similar photo to the first, it looked like they had only been taken a few seconds apart. The slight blurriness indicated that Christen was probably as drunk as she looked.

  
  
  
  


Just as her eyes drank in all the picture, another message came through. She scrolled down, her lips pursing as she looked at the new photo. She had a sudden thought that she wished she was there with her instead of Kelley but quickly shook the thought away with a small sigh.

  
  
  
  


The next picture came with a caption. Finally. 

  
  
  
  


**Look what you’re missing out on.**

  
  
  
  


[New picture message]

  
  
  
  


**Wish you were here xoxo**

  
  
  
  


There was a small upturn of Tobin’s lips as she took in the next picture.

  
  
  
  


**Kelley is more fun than you.**

  
  
  
  


**I think I might leave you for Kelley. She lets me touch her butt whenever I want.**

  
  
  
  


Tobin knew that Christen was just drunk and trying to get a rise out of her and it was  _ working.  _ Her jaw clenched as her eyes zeroed in on how close the two of them were standing together, she could imagine them dancing together all night. Christen rubbing back against Kelley as their hips ground together to a filthy pop song. Kelley’s hands curling around her waist to keep her close, leaning in to whisper filthy things in her ear, causing Christen to giggle and bite down on her bottom lip as she continued to grind her hips back into Kelley. 

  
  
  
  


Tobin knew there was a history there. Between those two. Back in college. She didn’t know exactly what had happened because Christen refused to talk about it and every time she’d tried to bring it up with Kelley too, she’d just dodge the question or talk about something else. So, seeing the two of them together,  _ this  _ close was a little unsettling.

  
  
  
  


A small growl may or may not have left her lips at the very thought of them getting down and dirty on that dance floor.

  
  
  
  


A few more pictures came through with a few more taunting messages and Tobin could feel her fingernails digging into the palms of her hands before she tapped on her keyboard to send a text back.

  
  
  
  


**Don’t make me come there and drag you home.**

  
  
  
  


It was a threat that both of them knew Tobin would never fulfil, she would never leave the comfort of her pyjama bottoms or the warmth of their apartment despite how sexually frustrated she was feeling right now.

  
  
  
  


When Christen got the text through she let out a bark of laughter. She knew exactly what she was doing with those texts and it looked like it was eliciting the exact reaction that she wanted.

  
  
  
  


In reality, Christen would never go there. Not again. They’d actually just spent most of their time at the bar, accepting whatever drinks came their way and chatting about complete and utter bullshit. It started off as a normal conversation but the drunker they got the more nonsensical it became. 

  
  
  
  


Christen left about twenty minutes later, she couldn’t stop thinking about Tobin at home. Probably simmering with anger and jealousy and Christen’s skin trembled thinking about where this evening could go. The dark look that was no doubt in Tobin’s eyes causing her stomach to flutter.

  
  
  
  


She fumbled with her keys in the dark as she struggled to open the door, once it was finally open she stumbled through the entry way with clumsy feet before closing the door behind her, slamming it a little too loudly.

  
  
  
  


‘M’home!’ Christen called as she fumbled to slip out of her high heels by the door. Her feet were aching like crazy. There was a reason she rarely ever wore high heels.

  
  
  
  


Tobin had heard Christen way before she announced her presence, standing up from the couch and moving out to the hallway. She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes checking her over and her lips pressed into a thin line.

  
  
  
  


‘So... had fun at the party did you?’ There was no mistaking the tone in Tobin’s voice as she begun to stalk forward towards her.

  
  
  
  


Christen looked up at her with a sloppy pleased grin, looking proud.

  
  
  
  


She flicked off her last remaining heel just as Tobin reached her. 

  
  
  
  


With no warning, Tobin pushed Christen roughly against the wall but Christen’s grin didn’t waver. Her eyes flickered between Tobin’s dark hooded chocolate brown eyes and her rosy pink lips.

  
  
  
  


‘It looks like I need to remind you which soccer player you belong to.’ Tobin’s voice was low and husky and Christen had to ignore the way it made her knees weak. 

  
  
  
  


Then suddenly Tobin’s lips were on hers and Christen lets out a small moan at the force of it, her lips immediately moved with hers, both fighting for dominance and control of the kiss. 

  
  
  
  


Lips parted and teeth scraped and tongues battled, Tobin pressed her full body against Christen’s, moving her leg to slot between Christen’s, she could feel her heat against her knee and she pressed a smirk against Christen’s mouth at the discovery. 

  
  
  
  


Finally they both pulled away, gasping for air. Tobin’s eyes travelled to Christen’s red kiss-swollen lips as she licked her own. She leant forward again, this time to brush her lips against the curve of Christen’s ear. ‘ Get upstairs now.’ She ordered with that same low husky tone of voice, her hand inching forward to press against her crotch, she delighted in the pleasured moan at the small touch. She gave a small squeeze before she let go and stepped back completely.

  
  
  
  


She looked at Christen and she looked positively debauched, her head back against the wall exposing the span of her neck. Her breath coming out in short pants as her chest heaved up and down lightly. Her face flushed and her hair slightly sweaty as it pressed against her forehead. Tobin smirked. 

  
  
  
  


Finally, Christen moved, following Tobin’s instructions.

  
  
  
  


‘Be quiet. We wouldn’t want to wake Morena up, now would we? She’s just settled down in bed.’ Tobin spoke again with a small smirk, following closely behind as they headed towards the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!   
> let me know all your thoughts & feelings in the comments.   
> i love reading them.


	4. deep in her eyes, i think i see the future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day four of twenty four: meet-cute  
> [krashlyn]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some krashlyn this time as i know a few of you wanted it!! [memoriesofthecedartrees](https://archiveofourown.org/users/memoriesofthecedartrees) i'm looking at you!  
> this is basically just like a small au first meeting kind of thing.  
> i'd imagine it's set in like new york or smth like that but you can make up your own minds about that ig.  
> also i could possibly write a second part to this, just lemme know if you want it?  
> anyway, i think i've rambled on long enough lmao. enjoy!

There was something enchanting about walking through a park in the cold.

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn loathed the cold, she had always hated it ever since she was a child. She would take the heat any day over this.To tell the truth, it wasn't really that bad – at least there was no snow on the ground, yet, and the wind had died down to just erratic breezes. Still, the cold contained a bite that sank its teeth deep into her flesh, and she couldn't shake the chill out of her limbs. 

  
  
  
  


Still, she would rather be out here than in her warm, empty apartment. She was just as solitary out here as she was back there but here she was free to do what she pleased. For one, ducking from tree to tree in chase of some errant spirit didn't feel as silly as dancing around her apartment bumping into furniture.

  
  
  
  


There was no one else in this small quaint park. The others – loving couples or happy families – preferred to frequent the larger, cheerier gardens. Those were strung with blinking lights and Christmas trees, and yes, one could literally feel the air pervaded with love and joy. Her friends had invited her for an evening of festivities but she had declined. For some reason, she wanted to spend tonight by herself. Perhaps it was the whole end of the year deal, when people usually went into contemplative states, knowing that the year was ending. It was a resolution, a little crossroad in one's life; one that came periodically but still echoed finality nonetheless.

  
  
  
  


December. A contradicting potpourri of present giving, winter frolicking and tying the ends of one's year together. The holiday was in, but…

  
  
  
  


Another chapter of one's life closed. Life, after all, was one book that could not be rewritten.

  
  
  
  


She ducked under the cover of a tall fir tree, the small path lights filtering through its piney leaves in dazzling splinters of gold light. Fir trees were nice; they kept their perpetual coat, unlike the other vegetation, which hung bare and cold in the winter night.

  
  
  
  


Chuckling softly to herself, she swung out from under the tree, breath materialising in a frigid cloud around her as she set down one fairy lit path. The complete absence of human constraints felt liberating; no fences, no rules, no laws binding her down. Nothing but sheer freedom and the caress of wind on her face.

  
  
  
  


A sense of seclusion still dwelled within her heart, but she abandoned it all in a flight of freedom. Ashlyn trotted down the path, slowly gaining speed, unheeding of the scant grip the icy ground afforded her. A wild laughter escaped her in sheer exhilaration; she was in control, she was free…

  
  
  
  


She almost ran over the small brunette woman bundled up in a long coat coming towards her.

  
  
  
  


She swerved at the last minute and twisted around, killing off enough momentum to bundle to a halt just before she would have smacked into a low hanging tree branch.

  
  
  
  


‘I'm sorry!’ She blurted out, reaching out and quickly grabbing one arm to steady the pretty brunette, who stared up at her with half dazed eyes.

  
  
  
  


‘Okay. That was very unexpected.’ 

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn laughed half breathlessly. ‘I thought for a moment you were a ghost or something. I don't usually expect someone to appear out of nowhere in front of me.’ She had to resist very hard to not make a joke about her being an angel falling from heaven because in this light that was all she could describe her as, angelic.

  
  
  
  


‘Ah,’ She said sheepishly, biting down on her lower lip. ‘I didn't think anyone would be here, so I sort of… ignored the usual modes of propriety.’

  
  
  
  


‘That's... okay.’

  
  
  
  


‘If it's not too impolite of me to ask, what's got you wandering around this deserted park all alone by yourself at this hour?’ 

  
  
  
  


Ali's lips quirked up at the sides, her perfectly shaped eyebrow rising. 

  
  
  
  


‘I could ask you the same question.’

  
  
  
  


A small flutter of laughter left Ashlyn's lips. ‘Touché.’

  
  
  
  


Ali cast a glance towards the sky, her chocolate brown eyes sparkling in the light. ‘It's cold here.’

  
  
  
  


‘Yeah,’ Ashlyn agreed, taking the time that Ali was looking away to take in and fully appreciate her physical features. 

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn looked away, glancing around. There was a definite cold chill, the fact that the park was dark and empty besides the two of them gave it an extra eerie feeling.

  
  
  
  


‘Well,’ her voice echoed slightly in the clearing. ‘Since we've established that we're both out and alone this wintry night, how about we take a walk together?’ Ashlyn asked with a small soft smile, expecting her to make some excuse to leave and not take her up on her offer. 

  
  
  
  


A dark flash swiped through her eyes. ‘Sure.’ She said carefully. ‘I'd like that.’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn allowed her to take the lead; she chose a path, and whether by luck or chance, it was the one that she was familiar with. It was a path lined with small shrubs with towering fir trees almost forming a canopy over their heads. Footlights dotted the way; little beacons of light in a green ocean.

  
  
  
  


They walked comfortably side by side, indulging in idle chit chat that contained none of the strained politeness or awkwardness that often marked conversation between two strangers. It was strangely comforting, how they could talk without fumbling for a topic or stewing in silence.

  
  
  
  


They simply clicked. And in light of such companionship, she began to forget her previous sullen mood.

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn studied her profile, slightly curious. Liquid dark brown eyes, framed by long brown hair that was tied up in a messy bun that sat lopsided on the top of her head. She could tell they were similar in age, a youthful glow to her skin with laughter lines beginning to creep in around her eyes and cute dimples that deepened every time she moved her mouth to talk or smile.

  
  
  
  


‘Look!’ A sudden breathy exclamation interrupted her reverie. ‘It's snowing!’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn looked up and saw that the sky was indeed raining soft white flakes. Snow began to drizzle down upon them like thick goose feathers burst free of a down pillow. The woman whose name she still didn't know lifted her gloved hands up to catch the flakes, curling her fingers as if cupping a precious butterfly. A smile lit up her lips. 

  
  
  
  


Entrancing. She stared at the spectacle, wondering how something as simple as snow could transform someone into flights of delight. The white flakes were gathering in her hair like little sparkling gems in the velvety sky.

  
  
  
  


‘You've… never seen snow before?’ She asked softly, as if her voice would shatter the deep calm that permeated the air.

  
  
  
  


Ali shook her head, eyes still pointed at the sky as she watched the snow delicately falling down. ‘No, not like this. Just the slight slushy snow that barely covers the ground.’ She paused, her eyes lit up with wonder. ‘This is magical.’

  
  
  
  


Ali turned towards her, snow swirling in her wake in an aerial dance. A faint dusting of white already coating the ground.

  
  
  
  


‘Isn't it coincidental that it would snow just minutes after I met you? Now everyone who wished for a white Christmas will find their wish granted.’ Contentment colored her voice.

  
  
  
  


‘White Christmas or not, it won't stop us from catching our deaths out here in the cold. Let's find somewhere warm.’

  
  
  
  


The white flakes continued to drift down in powdery clumps, occasional gusts of wind putting them into errant flight. Ashlyn watched her movements amusedly; she almost skipped through the snow, enjoying the minute crunch of sound as the flakes sank under her boots. She tried to catch some of the icy flakes, and was chasing one fleeting fleck when she came to an abrupt halt. 

  
  
  
  


They had halted at the edge of the garden, a bright, bumbling street just several meters away in their sight. Happy couples gathered there, some teenagers congregating in little groups. She glanced concernedly at her companion, her head slightly bowed. Worried this was where they might part and never see each other ever again.

  
  
  
  


Despite only having just met that evening. She already felt strangely attached to her. She seemed like a wonderful young woman but most of all, she realized, they understood each other in an odd empathetic way. 

  
  
  
  


Her companion's eyes had suddenly turned wistful. She drew one hand through her hair in a nervous movement. ‘I… better get home,’ she whispered. ‘It was really nice to meet you!’ She nodded to her in goodbye, her hand falling limply to her side…

  
  
  
  


… only to be caught in a warm comforting grip.

  
  
  
  


Ali’s eyes widened slightly. Ashlyn only smiled, tugging the small hand securely and pulling the woman after her gently.

  
  
  
  


‘You're cold, aren't you?’ She called behind one shoulder. ‘I have a friend who owns this great coffee place where we can get some hot cocoa at this unearthly hour.’ Ashlyn whirled to a halt, eliciting a gasp from her new friend at the abrupt halt. She pulled off the soft woollen beanie that had been sat atop her head and jammed it atop Ali's head, smothering her laughter at the sight of her shocked eyes just barely peeking out from underneath the material as it sinks down her forehead.

  
  
  
  


‘After all, it's Christmas Eve, and no one should be alone on Christmas Eve!’ She proclaimed and recaptured her hand, guiding her unresistingly out of the park and onto the busy street. 

  
  
  
  


She felt her speed up, speeding up slightly to draw even with her pace. Glancing sideways, she watched her running, unerringly following her lead, eyes trained on the path before them. The cold had coaxed a faint pink to her cheeks. 

  
  
  
  


As they ran, she felt her fingers curl slightly against her own. Her smile grew wider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!  
> please let me know if ya liked it.  
> on a sidenote:  
> i don't really use my twitter anymore but feel free to hit me up on [tumblr](https://vivdedonk.tumblr.com/)  
> but i usually just spend most of my time on [discord](https://discordapp.com/channels/@me/434136645399216138) so come talk to me on there.


	5. this is the christmas i've been searching for

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day five of twenty four: first christmas  
> [kellex]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this while still half asleep after accidentally napping for like 5 hours, oops!  
> so apologies for any mistakes or if it's just kind of bad  
> i finally wrote some kellex so i hope you enjoy!

Alex hummed to herself while fixing another ornament to a branch. It was her first Christmas with Kelley and she couldn't keep the smile off her face. It had been a long time since she'd celebrated Christmas properly with anyone. It had been a few years since she and Serv had finally called it quits and got divorced and even longer before she had been home for a proper family Christmas. So she felt lucky to be able to share this experience with the woman she loved more than anything. Always had but she’d allowed her fame and pride from stopping her going after what she really wanted.

  
  
  
  


Kelley was everything she had ever wanted and then some; sweet, funny, just the right amount of chaotic – she heard paper rip and a curse – and all thumbs when it came to wrapping. She abandoned the tree for a moment to look in on Kelley in the other room. There was her human disaster of a girlfriend sitting on the floor in a veritable sea of wrinkled wrapping paper and ribbons.

  
  
  
  


‘Need some help there, babe?’ She asked, barely able to keep the amusement out of her voice.

  
  
  
  


‘What do you think?’ Kelley looked up at her with an angry pout, forehead wrinkles creasing as her eyebrows furrowed. Alex let out a small laugh before sitting herself down in front of her.

  
  
  
  


‘Let me see,’ she took the object she was trying to wrap and raised an eyebrow.

  
  
  
  


‘Don't say it, Alex,’ Kelley shook her head, shooting her a mock glare.

  
  
  
  


‘So…’ Alex drew out the word. ‘You’ve been through two World Cups and played in Olympic Games and the thing that finally gets you is a box of chocolates?’

  
  
  
  


‘It's a circle!’ Kelley huffed defensively, crossing her arms across her chest as she sulked.

  
  
  
  


‘Yeahhhh,’ Alex patted her shoulder with a smirk. ‘Hand me the cellophane paper, I'll show you a cheat.’ Kelley watched with a clearly abused pride as she covered the box with a large piece of opaque cellophane then gathered it at bottom, twisting and securing it with a piece of ribbon. She cut the excess off then taped down the little bit at the end. She flipped it back over and presented it to her, ‘There you go.’

  
  
  
  


Kelley’s eyes darted from the now wrapped present up to Alex’s smug face as if she had just performed magic right before her very eyes. ‘How did you even— I—’ Kelley snapped her mouth shut and just shook her head in disbelief.

  
  
  
  


After a few moments, a soft smile tugged at her lips. ‘What did I ever do without you, huh?’ 

  
  
  
  


She leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to her still smiling lips.

  
  
  
  


Alex smirked, ‘Probably bought square boxes of chocolate.’

  
  
  
  


She watched her for a minute before pressing a hand against her thigh. ‘Hey, why don't you take a break?’

  
  
  
  


‘Good idea,’ Kelley got up and dusted herself off. She held both her hands out for Alex and helped her stand back up. ‘Have you finished the tree yet?’

  
  
  
  


‘Nope, I had to come save you, didn’t I?’

  
  
  
  


‘My hero,’ Kelley said dryly, although she couldn’t help the small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. 

  
  
  
  


‘’Kay. Let's finish it, together.’ 

  
  
  
  


They walked back to the tree and resumed decorating. 

  
  
  
  


‘Um Kel... I was hoping that after we finish the tree, I could maybe, give you an early present?’

  
  
  
  


Kelley stepped back and glanced over at Alex, her eyes sparked with interest. ‘I don't suppose I could persuade you to give it to me now, could I?’

  
  
  
  


Alex shook her head with a small chuckle. ‘You could always try but you wouldn't succeed. There's a reason for it.’

  
  
  
  


They returned to their task and after arguing about the placement of certain ornaments and a tinsel fight, the tree was finally done and Kelley was quick to point that out. 

  
  
  
  


‘There the tree is done, now I believe I was promised an early Christmas gift.’ She couldn’t help the cheeky grin that spread across her lips as she rocked back and forth on her heels with nervous excitement.

  
  
  
  


‘It's not much,’ Alex pulled out a black velvet box with a red silk ribbon wrapped around it from her pocket. She wet her lips nervously as she held out the box towards Kelley. ‘It's kind of silly really.’

  
  
  
  


‘It can't be that bad,’ Kelley took the box from her hand.

  
  
  
  


She lifted the lid and saw a beautiful Oystersteel, Everose gold and diamond plated watch. The diamonds twinkled in the light.

  
  
  
  


‘Holy shit, Alex. It’s fucking beautiful.’ Kelley murmured, mesmerised. Alex knew about her love of watches but this was the most beautiful watched that she’d ever seen.

  
  
  
  


‘Turn it over.’

  
  
  
  


And turn it over she did. There on the back of the watch in a fancy engraving were the words. 

  
  
  
  


_ To Kelley,  _

  
  
  
  


_ I love you in the morning, in the middle of the day, in the hours we're together and the hours we are away. _

  
  
  
  


_ Love Alex.  _

  
  
  
  


Kelley, despite her best efforts to hide it could feel her eyes begin to water. She didn’t even know what to say. She was speechless. 

  
  
  
  


Which was a first.

  
  
  
  


‘Alex, I—’

  
  
  
  


Alex gnawed nervously on her lower lip, lifting a hand up to scratch the back of her head. 

  
  
  
  


‘What? Is it too cheesy? It’s too cheesy, isn’t it?’

  
  
  
  


‘Truthfully yes,’ Kelley admitted with a small grin, unable to take her eyes off it before she turned the watch back around and lightly caressed the watchface with the pad of her thumb. 

  
  
  
  


‘But I love it.’ She gently eased the watch out of the box before placing it on her left wrist. 

  
  
  
  


‘It's perfect.’

  
  
  
  


‘No this is.’ Alex stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Kelley’s shoulders before pulling her close, nuzzling her face into the hair just above her ear. 

  
  
  
  


‘I’m so glad I get to spend my Christmas with you.’ She whispered in Kelley’s ear.

  
  
  
  


‘Me too.’ Kelley whispered back with a heartfelt smile, her own arms wrapping around Alex’s waist. They stood like that for a while, just holding each other close with matching content smiles as they began to sway from side to side. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading, as always!  
> if anyone is interested [this](https://i.imgur.com/Ok7Q1XI.png) is the watch alex bought kelley.  
> whether you loved it or hated it, lemme know!  
> peace nd luv xo


	6. and when i fall, i know you'll be there to catch me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day six of twenty four: mistletoe  
> [soran]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright, alright, some more soran goodness for u all.  
> hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it!

Lindsey sighed, why did Sonnett do this? Every single year for a month — Sometimes longer — They had to almost avoid each other every time one entered a room. Emily, every year insisted on placing a piece of damn mistletoe in almost every doorway of their shared apartment and in other various places, it was like a fucking minefield! 

  
  
  
  


Lindsey had always wondered why she put them up if they had to dodge them and could never be anywhere near each other in fear of accidentally stepping beneath one and of course it was like the biggest rule of Christmas to Sonnett, to kiss if you happened to do so. 

  
  
  
  


Lindsey wouldn’t hate it as much as she did if she didn’t have to watch everywhere she went. Sonny was a bit… too, festive. Lindsey loved Christmas and all but Sonny took it a little bit too far.

  
  
  
  


‘Hey, Lindsey?’ Emily called to her, ‘Can you come and hang this up for me?’

  
  
  
  


‘No, you seriously need to chill out with all this decorating Em!’ Lindsey scolded, she had secluded herself to her room, wishing that her best friend wasn’t so insane about the damn ornaments.

  
  
  
  


‘Come on, please!?’ Whined Sonnett petulantly.

  
  
  
  


‘No!’ Lindsey refused, she was not helping, she never would help, every single year Sonnett would beg and beg but Lindsey would not help. Lindsey was fine with making her room all festive and pretty by herself. She may have seemed like an asshole and she knew Emily’s decorating was mainly to brighten up their dreary apartment and she understood that. She did, but she was always hoping that Sonny would get lazy – as usual – and give up, but not once had she ever stopped the decorating.

  
  
  
  


Lindsey jumped, being startled by a loud crash and a yelp, ‘Sonny!?’ Lindsey called, dashing from her room to see what her roommate had done this time. She found Emily rolling around in agony on the floor, a box of ornaments – mostly broken – nearby and the ladder she’d been standing on tipped over.

  
  
  
  


‘Lindsey…’ Emily cried in pain.

  
  
  
  


‘What did you do?!’    
  
  
Lindsey asked with furrowed brows full of concern, immediately kneeling down beside her.

  
  
  
  


‘I was trying to reach a certain spot and the ladder fell over.’ 

  
  
  
  


Sonny winced as Lindsey helped to sit her up.

  
  
  
  


‘Okay, what hurts?’ Lindsey had always been kind of over-protective of Emily when it came to moments like this. Her mind flashed back to when Emily got injured, how she had knelt by her side, clutching her hand tightly in her own even when the team physicians arrived with a stretcher. 

  
  
  
  


Emily was her best friend, her only friend in some cases and she couldn’t lose her. Her mind always went into overdrive and she couldn’t stop the panic rising up inside her body. Even when it was something stupid and minor like this. God damn it Horan, pull yourself together woman.

  
  
  
  


‘I— I don’t know, everything hurts right now.’ Sonnett struggled to catch the breath that had been knocked out of her.

  
  
  
  


‘Right, okay. What hurts the most, then?’ Lindsey asked with an almost annoyed sigh.

  
  
  
  


‘Probably my arm.’ Emily spoke, surprisingly calm about all of this, she must still be running off of adrenaline otherwise, she was sure Sonny would be moaning a lot more about it.

  
  
  
  


‘Okay, you could have broken it, or dislocated it or—’

  
  
  
  


‘Linds, you’re mother—hen—ing me. Stop it.’ 

  
  
  
  


Lindsey rolled her eyes, so what if she was?

  
  
  
  


‘I'm just being cautious. Do you think you can walk? I’m taking you to the hospital.’ Lindsey spoke, her eyes glued to Emily’s injured arm.

  
  
  
  


‘Don’t be ridiculous, Lindsey. It’s not that serious. Just help me get set up on the couch with an ice-pack and some Netflix.’ Emily spoke before breathing in a deep breath before grabbing onto Lindsey’s shoulder with her good arm and pushing herself to her feet with a groan, limping slightly over to the couch. 

  
  
  
  


Once she had flopped gracelessly down into the couch cushions, she opened her mouth to speak again. ‘And maybe some Chinese food?’ She added almost as an afterthought.

  
  
  
  


‘But—’

  
  
  
  


‘Come on. Look, I promise I’ll tell you if the pain gets any worse and then you can take me to the emergency room, okay?” Emily felt a little guilty for worrying Lindsey but she was honestly fine. 

  
  
  
  


‘Alright… Fine…’

  
  
  
  


Lindsey watched with careful eyes as Emily settled herself on the couch, once she was satisfied that Sonny was alright and could be left on her own, she turned on her heel and went to get an ice-pack as requested, and to also order some Chinese food for the both of them. 

  
  
  
  


Lindsey returned not long after, wrapping the ice pack in a cloth and placing it tenderly on Emily’s now extremely swollen arm, ‘Ooh, ow… Careful.’ Emily squirmed uncomfortably.

  
  
  
  


‘I’m gonna go get the Chinese I just ordered, see you in about twenty minutes?’ Lindsey leaned in and ruffled Emily’s hair with a small grin, smirking at the grumbling moan that came from Sonnett at the action before she turned to walk towards the door.

  
  
  
  


‘Okay, don’t forget the sweet and sour sauce!’ Sonnett called out after Lindsey as she left.

  
  
  
  


‘Yeah, yeah.’

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


‘I can’t believe that you forgot the damn sauce. Dumbass.’ Emily grumbled, moving positions and yelping in pain as she did.

  
  
  
  


‘Hey, hey. Take it easy!’ Lindsey scolded.

  
  
  
  


‘I don’t think that I’ll be able to sleep like this, it really hurts Linds.’ Emily let out a small pained whimper, as much as she didn’t want to she concluded that she would need to go to the hospital. If anything just for the pain relief.

  
  
  
  


‘You wanna head to the minor injuries unit, now?’ Lindsey turned her head to ask her, one eyebrow raised.

  
  
  
  


‘Yeah…’ Emily said with a defeated sigh.

  
  
  
  


The two left and headed to the local hospital, Lindsey was already dreading the questions that were going to come their way once everybody heard about this. Emily struggled to walk with the crippling pain shooting through her arm, Lindsey held the elbow of her good arm as she guided her in through the doors.

  
  
  
  


They came face-to-face with Bailey, a kind young doctor who they both unfortunately knew well thanks to their numerous trips to this hospital in the past for a multitude of different injuries. Bailey’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as she took in the stance of Emily and the way she was cradling her swollen arm to her chest. Her eyes turned to look at Lindsey and she could see the look of worry in them but Lindsey just shook her head at Bailey and muttered ‘Later.’ 

  
  
  
  


Bailey seemed to accept this and guided Sonnett to a bed.

  
  
  
  


Bailey administered some pain relief almost immediately which Emily was grateful for and a nurse came along not too long after to set and cast her arm. Emily tried not to think about what this would mean for the team or how long she’d be off injured for.

  
  
  
  


Emily looked up at Lindsey with sad pain-filled eyes. ‘I’m sorry, Linds.’

  
  
  
  


Lindsey wasn’t quite sure what Emily was apologizing for, for going too crazy on the Christmas decorations causing the accident, for ruining the evening and possibly weeks of playtime for the Thorns because of her injury, for forcing them both to go to the hospital to get her arm fixed. Whatever it was, she waved it off immediately.

  
  
  
  


‘It’s okay, Sonny. Don’t even worry about it.’ She smiled genuinely letting Emily know that she meant it, she didn’t blame her for what happened and all she cared about was the fact that Emily was okay and it wasn’t more serious than a broken arm.

  
  
  
  


‘Ugh, can we please go home now? I’m tired.’ Sonnett asked, stifling a yawn against her shoulder. As comfy as this hospital bed was she would much rather be in her own.

  
  
  
  


‘Yeah, ‘course.’ Lindsey quickly checked that Emily was okay to be discharged before she returned, helping Emily up off the bed. 

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


Lindsey gripped onto Sonnett, holding her up and supporting all of her weight as they walked out of the hospital, grabbing an Uber back to their apartment where she repeated the process. She eyed the mess still littering the floor and told herself that she’d sort it in the morning, it was too late now and much like Emily she just wanted to crawl into bed and call it a night.

  
  
  
  


‘C’mon, I’ll help you get into bed.’ Lindsey told her and she was expecting Emily to immediately start protesting like she normally would be all she got was an ‘mmm’ in response, a testament to just how tired and drugged up Emily really was. 

  
  
  
  


Lindsey dragged Sonny along to bed, she helped her get undressed, stripping her of her skinny jeans and sweatshirt, carefully pulling it over the cast before placing the clothes in the laundry basket in the corner of the room. She left her in her bra and panties, not feeling the need to strip her completely as she grabbed some clothes for her to wear to bed. She then began to re-dress her, helping her pull on some comfortable sweatpants and an over-sized cotton t-shirt that she was pretty sure was once her own before helping her get settled under the covers. 

  
  
  
  


She sat herself on the end of the bed, watching and waiting for Emily to doze off, which didn't take long. She allowed a soft small smile to curve at her lips before she lightly brushed the hair that hung down on her forehead. She leaned down to press a soft kiss at the smooth skin there. ‘Goodnight, Sonnett.’ She whispered before she left the room and went to bed herself.

  
  
  
  


Lindsey awoke at around 3 am and went through to the kitchen to get something to drink. Just as she was sleepily entering the kitchen and not paying attention she slammed directly into Emily, who was just about to go back to bed after grabbing a cup of water. Emily stumbled, about to fall but Lindsey’s arms instantly went around her, steadying the other girl.

  
  
  
  


‘Shit, sorry. I didn’t see you.’ Lindsey admitted sheepishly letting out a small laugh, releasing her best friend and letting out a yawn, stretching tiredly, head tilting up towards the ceiling and freezing.

  
  
  
  


‘Sorry, I was just getting a drink.’ Emily mumbled just as tiredly.

  
  
  
  


‘Shit…’ Lindsey muttered, causing Emily to look up as well.

  
  
  
  


‘Oh…’ Sonnett whispered anxiously.

  
  
  
  


‘Do we really have to?’

  
  
  
  


‘It’s basically a law that you have to.’ Emily said, a small grin forming on her lips. 

  
  
  
  


‘It’s just a kiss Linds, it doesn’t mean anything.’

  
  
  
  


Lindsey sighed as they both began moving closer to each other awkwardly.

  
  
  
  


Sonny took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and swallowing hard. This was it. Lindsey wrapped her arms around Sonnett’s waist and Sonny wrapped her arms loosely around Lindsey’s shoulders, her newly casted arm bumping lightly against the base of Lindsey’s neck. 

  
  
  
  


Somehow this felt normal, it felt good. It was no longer awkward or weird, Lindsey’s eyes flicked down to Emily’s lips as she wet her own. A nervous habit.

  
  
  
  


Lindsey moved slowly closer, her lips connecting with Emily’s. An odd and sweet warmth radiating from their lips. Emily leaned into it, letting out a soft groan that neither of them had been expecting before pressing forward, trying to get as close to Lindsey as possible. Lindsey’s fingers curled around Emily’s slim hips, gripping onto her waist and pulling her closer to her so their bodies were pressed flush against each other. It felt so wrong but so right and Lindsey couldn’t help but love that feeling and quite honestly, Sonnett loved it as well.

  
  
  
  


‘We should leave these up all year, I think I could grow to like them.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! <3  
> lemme know what you thought nd who you would like to see next.


	7. all i want (is to spend my christmas with you)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day seven of twenty four: lisa asks viv to spend her christmas with her  
> [viv x lisa]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oop, sorry this is late!  
> but here's some viv x lisa for ya.
> 
> **just a little note:** this is a little au. viv and lisa aren't together yet and don't live together.  
> viv currently shares an apartment with danielle van de donk and lisa lives on her own.  
> that's about all you need to know.

The heels of her boots crunched on the snow covered pavement, trying her best not to slip over on the icy streets. Lisa shivered and pulled her leather jacket tighter around herself, her teeth had been chattering ever since she started her walk. 

  
  
  
  


She sniffed and rubbed her cold, red nose with her glove-covered hand. She knew that with this much exposure to the cold winter air she’d end up getting herself a cold and she let out a small groan at the very thought. Her jeans felt cold and stiff against the skin of her legs and she could feel the cold air entering the small opening at the bottom as they hung loose around her ankles.

  
  
  
  


She could feel the goosebumps rising against the skin of her legs, a great discomfort. She should have brought more layers of clothes to the training ground. And she should get her damn car fixed already.

  
  
  
  


Lisa felt the cold settling in her bones and she feels herself shaking uncontrollably. All she wanted now was to get home, take a hot bath, drink a mug of hot chocolate and roll herself up in a comforter and watch a cheesy Christmas movie all weekend. Thankfully, they didn’t have any games scheduled this weekend so she could do whatever she wanted (within reason). 

  
  
  
  


She sniffed again and kept walking as she decided to walk through the park, which was kind of a short-cut to her apartment. 

  
  
  
  


A loud cough broke her train of thought and she moved to the source of the sound. Lisa frowned in confusion as she saw someone very familiar sitting there. 

  
  
  
  


‘Viv?’

  
  
  
  


Vivianne Miedema was sitting on a park bench, slouched and wrapped in a thick winter coat, a scarf wrapped snugly around her neck and warm gloves covering her hands.

  
  
  
  


Viv turned her head as soon as she heard the sound, slightly startled as she had been lost in her own thoughts.

  
  
  
  


‘Lisa,’ She greeted, a small smile curving up on her lips. ‘Hi.’

  
  
  
  


‘What are you doing out here so late?’ Lisa asked, rubbing her numb fingers against each other in her coat pockets. 

  
  
  
  


‘It’s fucking freezing out here tonight and I find you here just sitting casually on a park bench.’

  
  
  
  


Viv looked at her for a long moment. 

  
  
  
  


‘I could ask you the same thing, Evans.’

  
  
  
  


She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders as she spoke quietly, every breath causing a cloud of condensation to form in the cold night air.

  
  
  
  


‘Training was really tough today.’

  
  
  
  


‘Joe was really pushing us today, I think he’s nervous about us being fit enough for the 

  
  
  
  


Champions League games. Not that you would know. You spent half the time fucking around with Roord and DVD.’

  
  
  
  


Lisa rolls her eyes and smiles, trying to control her chattering teeth as she spoke, gently rocking back and forth on her heels. She could feel her toes starting to go numb. 

  
  
  
  


It was true. It was freezing and Viv hated the cold. Like, really hated it. Which made the fact that she was sitting alone in the park in this freezing cold weather even more curious. To make the time go by a little faster, she messed around with her Dutch teammates, not paying as much attention to what Joe was saying than she should have. 

  
  
  
  


Lisa shifted her weight on her left foot, rubbing her ice cold jeans together to get a little warmth from the friction. She noticed that Viv was shivering as well despite her attempt to hide it.

  
  
  
  


Lisa frowned in worry and bit down on her lip. ‘Why are you even out here in the park? You’ll freeze to death — especially with what you’re wearing.’

  
  
  
  


She pointed to her thin jacket and slim tracksuit bottoms. ‘It’s like zero degrees out here!’

  
  
  
  


‘I left the training centre a little bit later today and when I got home I locked myself out by accident. Dan’s asleep, I think. I tried knocking but I heard no answer and when I say she’s a heavy sleeper, I mean she’s a really heavy sleeper. You’d be lucky if a bulldozer would wake her up once she’s out.’ 

  
  
  
  


Viv shook her head with an amused scoff before she sobered up and frowned as she looked back up at Lisa. ‘And I forgot the key.’

  
  
  
  


‘I’m surprised that Dan would lock the door,’ Lisa raised an eyebrow.

  
  
  
  


Viv smiled and nodded slowly.    


  
  
  
  


‘Yeah, she always does that. Just to be on the safe side, plus the lock’s kinda broken at the moment and it locks itself sometimes. I should really get it fixed soon.’

  
  
  
  


‘Well, you can stay at my place for the night, if you want,’ 

  
  
  
  


Lisa offered, without thinking about it first. She flashed Viv a sheepish smile.

  
  
  
  


‘I mean it’s Christmas Eve and it’s not like I have anyone else to spend it with.’

  
  
  
  


‘Aren’t you visiting Richard and Kate tomorrow?’ Viv asked with a furrowed brown.

  
  
  
  


She stood up from her position on the bench, stretching her sore and cold muscles with a small groan.

  
  
  
  


Lisa shook her head and smiled sadly. ‘Cancelled.’ She said simply before letting out a sigh.

  
  
  
  


‘I can’t go anywhere, my car broke down yesterday. I called them letting them know I wouldn’t be there.’ 

  
  
  
  


Lisa sniffed again, feeling the disappointment hit her again. She couldn’t help but feel like she was letting down her family again and it pained her. She didn’t make it up to Scotland regularly enough as it was and she missed her parents so much.

  
  
  
  


Every time something came up where she had to cancel plans for a home visit, it hurt her deeply. And she knew it hurt her parents too. 

  
  
  
  


She hoped she wasn’t driving them further away, all her reasons were valid. But there was only so many times she could cancel in a row before they came completely fed up with her and her excuses.

  
  
  
  


‘What about you? Is it just you and DVD this Christmas?’

  
  
  
  


Viv nodded her head with a small sad smile.

  
  
  
  


‘Uh, no. Dan’s spending it with Mead I think, or going back to Zeddam. I'm not really sure.’

  
  
  
  


She shrugged her shoulders with a small sad smile. ‘So, I’m alone too.’

  
  
  
  


She would love nothing more than to spend it with her brother, Lars. But he always came up with an excuse. He was busy. He already had plans. Every rejection felt like a stab in the heart but she tried not to think about it too much, if she did she would just start crying.

  
  
  
  


Lisa looked down and then back up and smiled with a glimmer in her eyes. 

  
  
  
  


‘You could uh, do you want to spend Christmas with me? You and Dan, I mean. You um, don’t have to, obviously. It was just a thought.’ Lisa trailed off, expecting rejection.

  
  
  
  


She looked up and let out a small laugh at the dumbstruck look on Viv’s face.

  
  
  
  


‘At least stay the night, I wouldn’t want someone finding you frozen to death,’ Lisa teased, as she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear again. 

  
  
  
  


‘You can call or text Dan letting her know so she doesn’t worry too much when she wakes up and you’re not there.’

  
  
  
  


Viv blinked herself out of her frozen stance. 

  
  
  
  


‘Uh, yeah. Okay.’ 

  
  
  
  


She spoke softly, still taken aback at Lisa’s offer.

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


Lisa was now wearing her pyjamas, red and blue checkered flannels with a white fluffy dressing gown covered on top. She exited her bedroom carrying a big bundle of sheets and pillows and blankets before depositing them at one end of the couch, ready for Viv to make it into a make-shift bed.

  
  
  
  


Her apartment wasn't big enough for two bedrooms so Viv had to take the couch, it was a pull out though and quite comfortable.

  
  
  
  


But she supposed Viv would be the judge of that after spending 8 hours trying to get comfortable on the thing.

  
  
  
  


She'd given Viv some pyjamas to put on since she only had her training gear on and she couldn't imagine she’d want to sleep in the sweaty clothes she’d been wearing all day.

  
  
  
  


Her clothes were a bit too baggy and lanky on Viv but Lisa couldn't help but think she looked adorable.

  
  
  
  


Something about seeing Viv in her clothes made her heart warm, the endless scenarios that popped into her head about what it would be like if she and Viv lived together. Of domesticated bliss. She shook her thoughts away, she couldn't allow herself to get too carried away. It would never happen so she may as well just forget it. 

  
  
  
  


Viv had plopped herself on the other end of the couch, just giving herself a moment to take in her surroundings. This was the first time Viv was seeing her apartment and although it wasn't much, it did its job. 

  
  
  
  


‘Do you want a glass of wine?’

  
  
  
  


Lisa asked, carrying out a bottle of red wine, two glasses in her other hand.

  
  
  
  


Viv eyed the bottle and a small grin spread across her lips.

  
  
  
  


‘Um, alright then.. I'll just have the one.’

  
  
  
  


But of course, it was never just the one.

  
  
  
  


Viv watched as Lisa poured the glasses after sitting down beside her on the couch.

  
  
  
  


‘Thanks. For letting me stay.’

  
  
  
  


Viv smiled genuinely, taking the offered glass once Lisa had finished pouring.

  
  
  
  


‘It's okay, I couldn't just leave you sitting in the cold all night. Consider it my good deed of the day.’

  
  
  
  


Lisa let out a small laugh, clinking her glass with Viv's.

  
  
  
  


Viv just nodded her head, accepting that for an answer as she took a slow sip of the wine.

  
  
  
  


They sat in silence for a while just deep in thought whilst they drank their wine, finishing the first glass and re-filling for their second.

  
  
  
  


‘Did you mean it?’

  
  
  
  


Viv asked suddenly, sharp eyes focused on the Scot sat beside her.

  
  
  
  


’Did I mean what?’

  
  
  
  


Viv rolled her eyes.

  
  
  
  


‘You want me to spend Christmas with you?’ She clarified.

  
  
  
  


Lisa smiled softly before nodding her head once.

  
  
  
  


‘Yeah, I mean if you want to. It would be nice not to spend Christmas alone.’ 

  
  
  
  


She twisted her mouth, she didn't mean for it come out like she was fishing for sympathy.

  
  
  
  


She just really liked Viv's company. She just really liked Viv.

  
  
  
  


‘Okay.’ Viv spoke, her voice soft and her eyes even softer.

  
  
  
  


‘Okay? You mean you—— you want to——’

  
  
  
  


‘Spend Christmas with you, yes.’

  
  
  
  


Viv finished for her with a soft laugh. ‘I would love to.’

  
  
  
  


Lisa's face broke out into a beaming smile, feeling warm all over.

  
  
  
  


‘Okay. That's— that's great!’

  
  
  
  


Viv let out a small laugh at how delighted Lisa looked, it was clear that Lisa had been expecting her to turn her down, give some sort of excuse as to why she couldn't but Viv couldn't think of a better way to spend Christmas than with Lisa.

  
  
  
  


Sure, it wouldn't cover up the aching hole in her chest at not spending the holiday season with her real family but it was a close alternative.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading!  
> let me know what you think and maybe i'll write some more.  
> also thank you everyone for all the support on this so far, it means the world! <3


	8. blue christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day eight of twenty four: emily gets sick and lindsey has to look after him.  
> [soran]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first of all i would just like to apologise for not uploading yesterday!!  
> i'm just gonna upload two chapters tonight to make up for it.  
> this being the first one.  
> just soran fluff with a guest appearance from bagel bongo.   
> enjoy!!

‘Gaa-choo!’

  
  
  
  


Lindsey heard the sneeze from the other room as she was cleaning up the kitchen in preparation for cooking the—spectacular, she was assuring everyone—Christmas dinner. It was Christmas Eve tomorrow and she had just been out shopping for everything she would need. She was determined to make this Christmas a good one, as it had been a rough year for everyone. 

  
  
  
  


‘Lindsey.’

  
  
  
  


She looked up from sorting through a cupboard, looking for the right sized pan to cook the turkey in, to find Emily standing in the kitchen still in her pyjamas and, looking like she hadn't slept all night.

  
  
  
  


‘Dude, you look terrible, what's wrong?’

  
  
  
  


Lindsey asked, frowning as she looked her over.

  
  
  
  


Emily sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve, leaving a mark that made Lindsey cringe in disgust.

  
  
  
  


‘My nose won’t stop running and my head hurts and I feel very cold.’

  
  
  
  


Lindsey's heart sank at the words.

  
  
  
  


‘Sounds like you caught a nasty cold, Em.’

  
  
  
  


She knew she didn’t need telling, she wasn’t an idiot. She knew very well what a cold was.

  
  
  
  


‘Gee thanks, Sherlock. Didn’t think of that.’

  
  
  
  


Emily rolled her eyes, her voice coming out all deep and nasally. 

  
  
  
  


Lindsey smirked, good to know she still had her sense of humour.

  
  
  
  


Emily let out another wet sneeze that she only barely covered with her arm. Lindsey cringed slightly, she wasn't exactly a germaphobe, but in the kitchen… when she was trying to prepare the Christmas dinner. She let out a sigh and stepped forward, grabbing Emily by the arm and steering her out of the kitchen and back towards her bedroom.

  
  
  
  


‘You need to go back to bed, Em. I don’t need you contaminating the kitchen with all your germs and spreading them all over the apartment. I don’t wanna be getting sick, too. Now, please get some rest. I'll find you some medicine and take your temperature. Okay?’

  
  
  
  


Emily huffed, she didn’t appreciate Lindsey talking to her like a child.

  
  
  
  


Alas Emily went willingly and allowed herself to be tucked back into bed, letting out a harsh sneeze in Lindsey's face in the process. She closed her eyes in a long-suffering manner and let out a groan.

  
  
  
  


Lindsey let out an echoing groan and glared at Emily. 

  
  
  
  


‘M’sorry.’ Emily mumbled, her eyes still closed.

  
  
  
  


Lindsey went to grab a glass of cold water before she returned to Emily who was curled up in bed, miserably breathing through her mouth.

  
  
  
  


‘Here, drink this,’

  
  
  
  


Lindsey offered her the frosted glass of water and Emily gratefully took it and drained the whole glass in only a few seconds, gasping for breath afterwards, her nose clogged making it hard to breathe. 

  
  
  
  


‘I can' fucking breade.’

  
  
  
  


Emily whined insufferably, her nose so stuffed that her words came out garbled.

  
  
  
  


It was like she had never had a cold before, she knew how this shit worked yet she was still acting like a baby about it.

  
  
  
  


Lindsey sighed, rolling her eyes before reaching for the box of tissues from the desk in the corner and handing them to Emily.

  
  
  
  


Emily reached for a tissue and blew her nose hard. She sighed, able to breathe a little better and looked at Lindsey with a grateful expression.

  
  
  
  


Lindsey went to get Emily some more tap water before she handed her the glass and two cold and flu tablets.

  
  
  
  


‘Here, take this. It should make you feel a little bit better.’

  
  
  
  


Emily took the tablets with the glass of water,, before taking a longer sip. She reached her hand out and placed the glass on the coaster on her bedside table, leaving some for later. 

  
  
  
  


She slid further into the bed with a small grateful smile on her lips. ‘

  
  
  
  


‘Thanks, Linds. I know I’m being a pain in the ass right now.’ 

  
  
  
  


Lindsey just smiled and shook her head, watching as Emily closed her eyes clear that the exhaustion was getting to her. A few hours of sleep would probably do her some good anyway. 

  
  
  
  


He pulled another blanket over him before he went back to organising stuff in the kitchen.

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


Unfortunately, Emily only got worse as the day went on and early the next morning, she woke Lindsey up by vomiting. Lindsey hurried to Emily's side, grabbing her around the middle before she took a face plant into the toilet.

  
  
  
  


‘Easy, babe,’ she said gently.

  
  
  
  


‘Feel awful, Lindsey.’

  
  
  
  


Emily said tiredly, leaning against her best friend, having no strength left.

  
  
  
  


‘I know babe, I know.’

  
  
  
  


Lindsey frowned before sitting Emily on the edge of the bath. She went to the sink for a cup of water and a washcloth and told Emily to rinse her mouth out. She then began to wipe Emily’s face with the washcloth but had to stop as the sick girl scrambled for the toilet again and proceeded to throw up once more.

  
  
  
  


‘Aw, Emily,’ Lindsey said with a sad sigh as she rubbed soothing circles down her back as she crouched on the bathroom floor, trembling.

  
  
  
  


‘I hope you don't have a stomach bug now too.’

  
  
  
  


‘I think it's just the fever,’ Emily said after she had gotten cleaned up and put back into bed.

  
  
  
  


Lindsey checked her temperature and sighed.

  
  
  
  


‘It's at 103.5. We need to cool you off.’

  
  
  
  


Emily whined. ‘I'm already, c-cold.’ 

  
  
  
  


She protested, shivering as Lindsey stripped off the robe and sweat-soaked sweatshirt she had been wearing and changed them for a t-shirt and a light blanket.

  
  
  
  


Emily groaned as Lindsey wet some washcloths to put over her forehead.

  
  
  
  


‘I know you feel cold but you’re burning up, babe. I need to cool you down to get the fever to break.’ Lindsey couldn’t believe she had to explain this.

  
  
  
  


It was a long night for Lindsey as she had to watch over Emily. She threw up one more time, but thankfully seemed to be done after that so they could rule out a stomach flu. Her fever continued through to the next morning, stubborn and refusing to break. She moved her out to the couch so she could watch Christmas movies on TV and curl up with Bagel for a while.

  
  
  
  


Lindsey knew that Bagel would give Emily a little bit of comfort, smiling as she watched Emily’s hand stroke through her fur as Bagel’s small snout snuffled under her chin. It was also good because Lindsey would be able to hear her better out here in case anything happened. 

  
  
  
  


Most of the day, Lindsey sat at her feet and watched the movies with the both of them. She talked about her favorite movies and her least favorite, and whatever the hell Krampus was.

  
  
  
  


Though most of the time, Emily just dozed, between sneezes and doses of medicine and bouts of a wet cough that had cropped up that morning. At least her fever finally broke that afternoon, taking away a little bit of the discomfort.

  
  
  
  


Lindsey helped her back into her room and allowed her to sleep in peace and quiet.

  
  
  
  


The next morning, early, Lindsey got up and tiptoed out to the kitchen to make coffee when she was accosted by Bagel nipping at her ankles.

  
  
  
  


She let out a small giggle before crouching down to scratch behind her ears before moving over to the coffee machine to make two cups of coffee, Bagel’s small feet padding behind her.

  
  
  
  


After she’d finished making the coffees, she took a sip out of her own mug and let out a small sigh. There was nothing quite like that first sip of coffee in the morning.

  
  
  
  


She startled when Bagel let out a small yip, looking up at Lindsey expectantly.

  
  
  
  


She let out a small laugh before bending back down and picking Bagel up.

  
  
  
  


‘Come on then, let's go wake Emily up.’

  
  
  
  


They walked quietly to the room where Emily was still sleeping deeply, curled under her blanket. Lindsey gently deposited Bagel on to the bed before reaching out and gently shaking her shoulder. Bagel trotted up the bed to start licking at her ear and only a minute later Emily started murmuring something and began to stir, her eyes flicking open. She looked up slightly dazed to Lindsey’s grinning face.

  
  
  
  


‘Merry Christmas, Emily!’

  
  
  
  


Lindsey announced cheerily.

  
  
  
  


‘Oh, is it Christmas already?’

  
  
  
  


She asked, slightly confused and tired, rubbing her eyes as she tried to sit up. Lindsey hurried to help her as she adjusted the pillows behind her back.

  
  
  
  


‘Yup, you slept pretty much most of yesterday. How are you feeling?’

  
  
  
  


Emily took a moment to adjust to being awake and shrugged.

  
  
  
  


‘Better, I think.’

  
  
  
  


‘Great!’ Lindsey said and started piling presents on to Emily’s bed making sure to not startle Bagel, who was now curled under Emily’s arm while she was at it.

  
  
  
  


Once all the presents were evenly spread out on the bed, Lindsey smiled, shuffling her ass to sit on the edge of the bed.

  
  
  
  


‘I think that’s everything. Let’s get to it.’

  
  
  
  


They both sat on Emily’s bed and opened their gifts, laughing and smiling as they saw what they had gotten each other. Then they both helped Bagel open up her presents, some new toys and treats for her to play with. They fondly looked down at her and scratched behind her ears as she attacked one of the new toys. 

  
  
  
  


Afterwards, they took the day to just relax and enjoy each other's company, and Lindsey worked on making the Christmas dinner while Emily and Bagel lounged about in the living room, watching more Christmas movies. 

  
  
  
  


All in all, Emily decided it wasn’t too bad of a Christmas, even if she was sick through it. She certainly wouldn't have wanted to spend her Christmas anywhere else. Or with anyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a lil rushed so i'm sorry if it's a bit shitty!  
> i hope u enjoyed the soran ft. bagel content anyway  
> as always, pls comment whether you loved it or hated it  
> nd thanks for all the love on this series so far!


	9. needed no wrapping at all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day nine of twenty four: megan thinks she's lost her present for sue but in actuality sue found it months ago and kept it to herself for safe keeping.  
> [birdinoe]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so the 2nd chapter of the evening! here u go. a lil bit of birdinoe.  
> sorry this is pretty short compared to all the other chapters but i'm mcstruggling with tiredness today and i just wanted to get back on track!  
> so we're now back up to date.  
> anyway enough of my nonsensical rambling. hope u enjoy!

Megan was in a panic. It was Christmas morning and she couldn’t find Sue’s present anywhere.

  
  
  
  


Where the fuck could she have put it?

  
  
  
  


She had bought it about six months ago and had hidden it in hopes that Sue wouldn’t find it and to keep it safe and out of the way but she couldn’t for the life of her remember where the fuck she put it. She had pretty much turned their shared apartment upside down whilst Sue was out giving the dogs their morning walk.

  
  
  
  


Megan had politely declined the offer to join them, making up some excuse that she had other things to do to prepare for the Christmas lunch later.

  
  
  
  


But now Megan was pretty much having a full on panic attack. She needed to find that damned present.

  
  
  
  


It wasn’t just any old present either, it was carefully thought out. She’d bought a beautiful golden locket with both hers and Sue’s initials laced together on the front of it. She had placed a picture inside of the both of them on their first date, their first proper official date. It had been a magical night and she knew that both of them would look back on it fondly forever.

  
  
  
  


But now it was all ruined because she couldn’t fucking find it.

  
  
  
  


Megan tried to control her breathing as she ran a hand roughly through her cropped purple hair, her eyes darting manically around the room.

  
  
  
  


She suddenly heard a key at the door and she swore under her breath, Sue was back. Her face was flushed and she had a bit of a guilty expression etched across her face when she walked into the living room. 

  
  
  
  


Megan plastered on a fake smile, pressing a soft kiss to Sue’s cheek. She couldn’t let anything away either, the last thing she needed was Sue asking difficult questions.

  
  
  
  


She excused herself to the bedroom under the false pretence that she was going to get ready but instead she took the time to have another look around the room. The one place she hadn’t looked was in Sue’s bedside table. It couldn’t be in there though, could it?

  
  
  
  


With a deep breath, she walked over to the other side of the room and perched herself on the side of the bed, slowly pulling open the wooden drawer.

  
  
  
  


Her breath hitched because there it was right in front of her eyes, right at the drawers edge. She closed her eyes tightly and let out a heavy breath. Her heart sank in slight sadness, she had been so looking forward to presenting this to Sue but Sue had found it before she even got the chance.

  
  
  
  


She heard light-padded footsteps behind her before she felt a dip in the bed beside her. She didn’t look up at her but she felt her leaning heavily against her side before her chin came to rest on her tense shoulder.

  
  
  
  


‘You know, your hiding places are really shit. I found it within a couple of days, without even trying.’

  
  
  
  


Sue mumbled, her voice laced with slight amusement.

  
  
  
  


Megan pouted, her eyes still downcast.

  
  
  
  


‘I wanted to give this to you properly. I’m sorry.’

  
  
  
  


She sounded so sad and it broke Sue’s heart.

  
  
  
  


She leaned in and lifted her head before cupping her hand around Megan’s cheek, her thumb stroking across the skin there for a moment as she tilted her head to look at her.

  
  
  
  


The love shining from Sue’s eyes caused Megan’s breath to hitch.

  
  
  
  


‘It’s beautiful. I just wanted to keep it safe. Somewhere I could look at it when I was feeling down or when I was missing you too much.’ 

  
  
  
  


Sue admitted in a slightly vulnerable voice.

  
  
  
  


A small smile tugged at Megan’s lips, reaching her own hand out to lightly caress Sue’s cheek. Both their eyes shining with unshed raw emotion.

  
  
  
  


‘Thank you.’

  
  
  
  


Sue said before pressing a lingering soft kiss to Megan’s lips.

  
  
  
  


‘I’ll let you put it on me later, and even act all surprised for your benefit.’

  
  
  
  


Sue winked with a small grin.

  
  
  
  


Megan rolled her eyes and shoved at Sue’s shoulder playfully.

  
  
  
  


‘I’m glad you like it. But can you tell me next time? I think I nearly gave myself an aneurysm with panic this morning trying to find it.’

  
  
  
  


She shook her head with a small laugh, the tension now fully leaving her tense muscles.

  
  
  
  


‘Sure.’ Sue smiled warmly.

  
  
  
  


‘But seriously, find a better hiding place.’

  
  
  
  


She smirked, giving Megan’s hair a fond ruffle before standing up from the bed.

  
  
  
  


‘C’mon, let’s get breakfast.’

  
  
  
  


She pulled at Megan’s hand, tugging her up from the bed. Megan complied, wrapping Sue up in a warm hug and pressing a kiss to her temple before she led them both out of the bedroom and back through to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this one was kinda trash  
> but i just wanted to write a lil something and get it posted  
> i should have something better posted tomorrow!  
> hope ur enjoying all these lil drabbles.  
> lemme know either way down below.  
> thanks for reading! <3


	10. light me up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day ten of twenty four: 'here, take my coat.'  
> [chrislex]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm extremely tired so this is another short one i'm afraid :(  
> somebody asked for chrislex nd i'm here to deliver  
> hope it's okay  
> i wrote it literally half-asleep

It was that time of year where the annual lights turning on was held in the city centre of Portland. All the lights and decorations had been strung up a few weeks prior but this Saturday evening was the evening where some old dude dressed very poorly as a Santa Claus turned on all of the lights that lit up the city. 

  
  
  
  


It was the same every year, a crowd forming around the square waiting impatiently in the freezing cold whilst the random Santa made some poor jokes before finally pressing a switch which they all knew wasn’t even the real switch to turn on the lights.

  
  
  
  


Christen swore under her breath as she shivered violently, she was the dumbass who came out in just a thin t-shirt. No jacket. No hoodie. No coat. She didn’t think it would be this cold and she thought maybe a jacket or coat would make her too hot. Oh, how wrong was she. 

  
  
  


She sighed heavily and then eyed the brunette who suddenly sidled up beside her.

  
  
  
  


She, of course, was wearing a long heavy thick coat with probably a multitude of thick layers underneath that. 

  
  
  
  


She had her hands tucked in the front pockets of her coat, a small smirk pulling at the corner of her lips.

  
  
  
  


Christen just rolled her eyes, she’d seen that look a thousand times before.

  
  
  
  


‘Good evening, Press.’

  
  
  
  


Alex spoke, turning her head to look at her for a moment before facing forward again.

  
  
  
  


‘Uh, yeah. Hi, Al— Alex.’

  
  
  
  


Christen stuttered involuntarily due to her mouth jittering and shivering from the cold just like the rest of her body was.

  
  
  
  


Alex turned to look at her again, this time keeping her gaze then. She looked at her up and down as if she was pondering on something before she began to shrug her big coat off of her shoulders.

  
  
  
  


‘Here, take my coat.’

  
  
  
  


Alex offered her the coat with an outstretched arm.

  
  
  
  


‘You don’t have to—’

  
  
  
  


Christen started to protest despite wanting nothing more than to be wrapped around that big warm coat.

  
  
  
  


‘You look cold, and I want to.’ She said the last part with meaning, pressing the coat in to Christen’s hand.

  
  
  
  


‘I’ll be fine, I’ve got more than enough layers on.’ She reasoned.

  
  
  
  


Christen just nodded her head once and took the coat, immediately shrinking into it and wrapping it tight around her body.

  
  
  
  


‘Thanks.’ She spoke, just loud enough for Alex to hear above the bustling crowd around them.

  
  
  
  


Alex just smiled back.

  
  
  
  


‘Yeah, well I wouldn’t want you catching a cold, Press. I need you to be on top form so I can whoop your ass on Saturday.’

  
  
  
  


And there she was, typical Alex Morgan.

  
  
  
  


Christen just bowed her head and smiled into herself, suddenly feeling warm and fuzzy and not because of the coat wrapped around her, which was doing a very good job at warming her body back up and stopping the tremors in her body.

  
  
  
  


They suddenly started to hear the crowd around them starting to countdown and they both paid attention to what was happening in front of them again.

  
  
  
  


Christen sidled closer to Alex unconsciously, slowly, slowly until they were almost brushing sides. A sliver of a smile appeared on Alex’s face.

  
  
  
  


She knew exactly what Christen was doing, despite how discreet she was trying to be.

  
  
  
  


She didn’t mind it though and she certainly wasn’t going to say anything about it.

  
  
  
  


Christen stuck out her index finger, just stroking along the back of Alex’s hand, testing. She just let her finger hang as she reached the end of her palm and Alex surprised her by reaching out with her own finger and locking it around her own. It was so simple, so private but so perfect. 

  
  
  
  


Christen’s smile brightened, watching as lights illuminated before their eyes as all the Christmas lights were finally switched on. 

  
  
  
  


She was no longer shivering or annoyed, she was warm and content. And all of that was thanks to Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nd das it.  
> sorry it's a bit shit.  
> nd short.  
> but hope you enjoyed it anyway!  
> lemme know.


	11. icy bruises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day eleven of twenty four: an argument leads into an accident  
> [krashlyn]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a lil bit of angst but it all turns out okay in the end :)  
> hope you enjoy it.  
> let me know what u think!

‘I’m so fucking sick of this, Ashlyn. You do nothing around the house, you barely even pay any attention to me anymore when you get home. Get your fucking shit together, please.’

  
  
  
  


Ali yelled at the woman who was lounging on the couch, in her usual spot. Ali’s face was flushed red as the frustration coursed through her bones.

  
  
  
  


‘Hey, that isn’t fair!’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn suddenly stood up, pointing a finger at Ali menacingly.

  
  
  
  


Ali scoffed.

  
  
  
  


‘Finally some movement, a reaction. Almost thought you turned into a complete invalid. Oh, wait—.’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn glared at the other woman. ‘Shut up and stop whining like a little bitch Ali, Jesus Christ.'

  
  
  
  


She barged past her and walked into the kitchen, giving Ali a hard shove with her shoulder as she brushed past her.

  
  
  
  


Ali stumbled slightly before turning on her heel.

  
  
  
  


‘That’s right, just walk away. Can never just face up to your problems, can you?’

  
  
  
  


She called after her, just adding fuel to the fire.

  
  
  
  


‘I said shut up, Ali.’

  
  
  
  


She yelled harshly as she peeped her head out of the kitchen. She walked over to the cupboard and took out a glass, pouring herself a double whisky.  _ Because alcohol always helps in these situations, doesn’t it? For fuck sake Ashlyn. _

  
  
  
  


Ali huffed angrily. She knew exactly what Ashlyn was doing. She did the exact same thing every single time they had an argument. Deny, block, drink. All it did was cause Ashlyn to get more and more angry and nothing ever got resolved.

  
  
  
  


‘You know what? Fuck you, Ashlyn. Let’s see how you deal with everything on your own.’

  
  
  
  


Ali spat, reaching boiling point. She couldn’t deal with this shit anymore. When she agreed to move in with her girlfriend this wasn’t what she had signed up for.

  
  
  
  


Ali roughly grabbed her jacket from the hook by the door and stormed outside the house. In her haste, she had completely forgotten how slippy the front steps were as they were covered in ice. She took one step outside and her foot slid on the ice and she fell harshly onto her back, her leg twisting around with a painful crack.

  
  
  
  


‘Ahh!’

  
  
  
  


Ali screamed, her head spinning from the fall but feeling the pain from her back and leg burning through her.

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn looked up from taking her first sip of the whisky, thinking she heard something but just putting it down to her imagination when she couldn’t figure out where the source of the noise was coming from.

  
  
  
  


‘Ash!’

  
  
  
  


Ali shouted, after coming around. She had momentarily knocked herself unconscious but now she was back in the land of living and all she could feel was pain.

  
  
  
  


‘Ashlyn!’

  
  
  
  


She shouted again but this time louder, hoping the other woman could hear her through the door.

  
  
  
  


This time Ashlyn knew her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her, she heard a familiar although muffled voice shouting at her through the door.

  
  
  
  


She figured it was Ali changing her mind or coming to give her another earful but there was something about her tone of voice that suggested it was something else.

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn placed her glass back down on the counter and started to walk towards the door, ready to give back just as good as she got now she had a little bit of dutch courage.

  
  
  
  


She swung the door open with force, her mouth open ready to lay into the younger woman when she stopped short. She immediately noticed the woman lying on the ground at the bottom of the steps, a small gash at the back of her head gushing blood and her leg twisted painfully.

  
  
  
  


‘Shit.’

  
  
  
  


She muttered under her breath before rushing down to her. She jumped the two steps, she wasn’t going to make a fool of herself and slip over too.

  
  
  
  


Ali suddenly noticed the dull throb to the back of her head and raised a hand to touch where it was hurting, she could feel a large bump and as she pulled her hand away she noticed the blood coating her fingertips.

  
  
  
  


‘Fuck.’ She muttered under her breath.

  
  
  
  


‘Ali, Ali—— what happened?’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn asked her with concern as she fell to her knees beside her, her eyes darting all over Ali’s body as she touched her lightly on the arm. The blazing argument they were having only moments ago already forgotten.

  
  
  
  


‘What do you think happened, asshole?’ Ali grunted with a side glance at her.

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn just glared at her.

  
  
  
  


‘Not helping.’

  
  
  
  


She muttered with an annoyed sigh.

  
  
  
  


‘Sorry.’ Ali mumbled after a moment.

  
  
  
  


‘I slipped on the top step. Forgot how icy it is out here.’

  
  
  
  


She muttered, her face twisting in pain.

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn nodded her head as she listened to her.

  
  
  
  


‘Where does it hurt?’

  
  
  
  


She asked, lifting a hand to brush against Ali’s forehead despite there being no hair there for her to brush away. Ali’s hair still held firm on the top of her head in a tight bun.

  
  
  
  


‘Everywhere.’ Ali groaned, she attempted to move her leg slightly and let out a loud painful moan.

  
  
  
  


‘Leg, back... head.’

  
  
  
  


She admitted, her breath coming out in pained gasps.

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn nodded, her eyes raking over Ali’s body with barely concealed concern.

  
  
  
  


‘Okay, okay.’

  
  
  
  


She leant back on her haunches before moving to stand up, scooping her mobile phone out of the right pocket of her sweatpants to call the emergency services.

  
  
  
  


‘Ambulance. Now.’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn spoke firmly down the phone before rattling off the address and then he hung up abruptly.

  
  
  
  


‘Okay, the ambulance will be here in a couple of minutes. Can you move?’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn asked gently as she kneeled back down next to Ali who was battling to keep her eyes open.

  
  
  
  


‘No, my leg. I can’t.’

  
  
  
  


She muttered weakly, her body trembling in the cold crisp winter air. She couldn’t even tell whether it was the cold or the pain causing her to shiver.

  
  
  
  


‘Hey, hey. Stay awake.’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn tapped her cheek lightly, watching as Ali’s eyelids fluttered open and closed a few times.

  
  
  
  


Before long Ashlyn could hear the sirens of the ambulance.

  
  
  
  


‘Hey, hey. You hear that? That’s your ambulance. Before you know it, you’ll be as good as new again baby. I promise.’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn tried to encourage Ali although inside all she could feel was worry and fear for the love of her life.

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn watched as the paramedics loaded Ali into the back of the ambulance, grunts and groans of pain leaving Ali’s lips as they had to move her leg slightly to get her onto the stretcher and into the back of the ambulance.

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn’s heart ached, she wished she could just take all of Ali’s pain away.

  
  
  
  


‘I’ll be there with you soon, babe. Okay?’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn called to her just before they closed the back of the doors. Ashlyn wasn’t quite sure if Ali heard her or not and soon enough she was watching as the ambulance disappeared down the street.

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn dragged rough hands down her face with a loud sigh, close to tears.

  
  
  
  


‘Dear god, you’re a fucking idiot, Ashlyn Harris.’

  
  
  
  


She muttered to herself before she headed back inside the house to grab her keys which she had left on the side before getting into her car and driving to the hospital to go find Ali.

  
  
  
  


It was a few hours later when Ashlyn was finally able to see Ali again. She had to wait around for Ali to come out of surgery for her leg. In the time that she had to wait, she called up Syd and told her exactly what happened, she had to tell someone, who better than her best friend. She wasn’t expecting sympathy and she certainly didn’t get it but to be fair, she could see that coming from a mile off.

  
  
  
  


Finally, though Ashlyn was allowed into the private room where Ali was resting and being monitored. She immediately noticed the cast that travelled up most of her leg and the small bandage on her left wrist, she must have sprained that as well on the way down of her fall but was in too much pain with her leg to notice it.

  
  
  
  


Her eyes met Ali’s, she was surprised to see her awake.

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn offered her a small tentative smile as she walked over and sat in the chair beside her hospital bed.

  
  
  
  


‘I’m sorry,’ were the first words out of her mouth, a guilty expression clear on her face.

  
  
  
  


Ali turned her head to look at Ashlyn, a look of confusion on her face.

  
  
  
  


‘What?’

  
  
  
  


‘You were right,  _ are _ right. I haven’t been doing enough. I’ve been selfish and lazy and just—— I’m sorry.’

  
  
  
  


She finished with a shrug, her eyes downcast almost like she was ashamed of herself, which she was.

  
  
  
  


Ali watched her carefully before she let out a sigh. She reached out her arm, her good arm and placed her hand on the nearest bit of skin that she could reach which happened to be Ashlyn’s elbow.

  
  
  
  


The touch made Ashlyn raise her head and she moved her chair closer to the bed. Ali moved her hand down slightly and wrapped her fingers around Ashlyn’s forearm. She couldn’t quite reach her hand so her forearm would have to do.

  
  
  
  


‘Thank you.’

  
  
  
  


Her voice sounded hoarse and Ashlyn immediately grabbed the cup of water beside her bed and offered it to her.

  
  
  
  


Ali took a grateful sip before handing it back.

  
  
  
  


She studied Ashlyn for a moment.

  
  
  
  


‘I’m sorry too.’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn’s brow furrowed.

  
  
  
  


‘What for?’

  
  
  
  


Ali let out another sigh.

  
  
  
  


‘For blowing up on you like that, I was just... frustrated.’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn shook her head with a sad smile.

  
  
  
  


‘No, I deserved it. I was taking you for granted, expecting you to do everything when we got home. It wasn’t fair.’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn cast her gaze down again, it had been a while since she had felt this shitty about something.

  
  
  
  


None of them said anything for a while before Ashlyn moved to speak again.

  
  
  
  


‘You really scared me today, you know that?’

  
  
  
  


Her eyes were boring into Ali’s, a seriousness in them that Ali had never seen before.

  
  
  
  


She nodded her head slowly.

  
  
  
  


‘I’m sorry.’ Her voice came out in almost a whisper, unable to look away from Ashlyn and her hard gaze.

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn just shook her head again, if anyone felt responsible for this fall then it was Ashlyn. Her and her stupid dumb actions caused this.

  
  
  
  


‘Just don’t do it again, okay?’

  
  
  
  


Her lips quirked as she tried not to smile but ultimately failing, she reached her hand over to cup her cheek, her thumb brushing across her cheekbone.

  
  
  
  


Ali let out a small laugh, looking at Ashlyn and holding her gaze for a few moments with a fond smile. ‘Okay.’

  
  
  
  


‘Good.’

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn returned, the fond smile matching on her own lips as she leaned in to press a soft kiss to Ali’s lips.

  
  
  
  


‘Get some rest, baby. I’ll come check back on you a little later, okay?’

  
  
  
  


She spoke as she rose to her feet.

  
  
  
  


Ali just nodded her head, her eyes already closed by the time Ashlyn left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!  
> appreciate all the love you've given this thing so far.  
> can't believe we're nearly halfway through already, that's mad.


	12. falling without grace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day twelve of twenty four: modern day au  
> [chrislex]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm super behind right now and i'm sorry!!  
> posting this lil short one for now but i'll try and catch up on chapters tomorrow/in the morning.  
> i know y'all wanted some more chrislex so here ya go.

Christen watched unnervingly as Alex stretched to pin the shiny garland against the wall. She hated this. The decorations were ugly, just the same old ones recycled every single year. She hated the fact that she could only watch as they were put around the Paediatric Ward in the Children’s Hospital they both worked at. It seemed that Alex had taken it upon herself to do all the decorating this year, the overly giddy look on her face only causing Christen to feel even more annoyed.

  
  
  
  


They looked terrible and Christen’s office was completely off limits, she wasn’t having any of this shit in her office. She feels for some reason that Alex will just sneak in there anyway and decorate it when she’s not there, if anything to just further her annoyance.

  
  
  
  


Right now though she was decorating the corridor en route to her office balancing precariously on a stepladder and Christen just knew this idiot was going to fall and hurt herself but she’d completely ignored all her warnings so far.

  
  
  
  


‘I’m nearly done, hand me that garland, will you?’

  
  
  
  


  
  
Alex spoke, reaching a hand out behind her for Christen to place the decoration in.

  
  
  
  


‘No.’

  
  
  
  


She crossed her arms firmly across her chest, a defiant look on her face.

  
  
  
  


‘Get down. This is ridiculous. They look shit anyway.’

  
  
  
  


Alex sighed loudly and rolled her eyes, she had to bite her tongue to not hit back with a sarcastic remark.

  
  
  
  


‘Just hand me it, I just need to put that one up and then I’m done.’

  
  
  
  


She huffed, looking at Christen over her shoulder.

  
  
  
  


‘No.’

  
  
  
  


She pressed his lips firmly together.

  
  
  
  


Alex sighed again and instead tried to reach for it herself. It was placed on a small table pressed up against the wall, just out of her reach.

  
  
  
  


She twisted her back and bent over, stretching her fingers out to grab the shiny piece of plastic. When her fingers were just a couple of inches shy of her target, she lifted one foot to try and stretch herself even further across and grab it.

  
  
  
  


‘Alex!’

  
  
  
  


Christen shouted with a warning, edging closer.

  
  
  
  


The events played out like in slow motion for Christen, Alex’s foot sliding from underneath her and in her ridiculous stretch to reach that damn shitty garland she fell. She tumbled to the ground haphazardly, right into Christen, knocking them both to the floor.

  
  
  
  


Christen heard a loud thud as her back hit the floor and Alex let out a small pained groan as she landed on top of her.

  
  
  
  


Christen grunted. ‘Get. Off. Of. Me.’

  
  
  
  


She gritted through her teeth not giving Alex another second before she pushed her off her and pulled herself up from the ground.

  
  
  
  


Alex rolled over onto her back, mumbling a quick apology as she gave herself a moment to just lie there and process what the fuck just happened. She could already feel the bruises beginning to form and she was pretty sure she twisted her ankle somehow during the fall.

  
  
  
  


Christen looked down at her with disgust, dusting the dirt off of her hot pink scrubs.

  
  
  
  


‘You fucking idiot.’

  
  
  
  


She muttered under her breath, just as Alex was moving to sit herself up, pushing her back to rest against the wall.

  
  
  
  


‘You know if you had just passed me the damn garland this would never have happened.’

  
  
  
  


Alex muttered, glaring up at her.

  
  
  
  


Christen glared right back and opened her mouth to reply with no doubt a scathing remark before deciding against it, figuring it was just going to be a waste of her time. It’s not like Alex listened to anything she ever said anyway.

  
  
  
  


Alex tried to move to stand finally but let out a small groan of pain whenever she attempted to move her foot.

  
  
  
  


Christen rolled her eyes because  _ of course. _

  
  
  
  


It was probably just a sprain but Alex could already see the skin starting to swell around her ankle.

  
  
  
  


Christen let out an over dramatic sigh before she leant down and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and helped lift Alex back up to her feet, muttering insults under her breath.

  
  
  
  


Alex groaned. ‘Shut up.’

  
  
  
  


‘Well, I did tell you.’

  
  
  
  


Christen retorted back, beginning to walk down the hall as Alex limped beside her.

  
  
  
  


‘This is your fault.’ Alex grumbled.

  
  
  
  


Christen opened her mouth to argue back, their voices trailing off as they continued to walk down to the end of the corridor where she handed Alex off to a nurse, ordering her to get an x-ray on Alex’s ankle as quickly as possible.

  
  
  
  


Ashlyn who was watching from a distance just smirked, they argued like an old married couple and she could only wonder when the two of them were going to get a fucking clue.

  
  
  
  


‘Take the rest of the day off.’

  
  
  
  


Christen ordered Alex just before she turned to leave. She could hear Alex’s beginnings of a protest and turned back to her shaking her head.

  
  
  
  


‘No. I’ve had more than enough of your idiocy for one day. Go home. Ice your ankle.’

  
  
  
  


She ordered, although her words didn’t have as much bite as they should have.

  
  
  
  


Alex just sagged knowing it was pointless for her to argue, plus she does have a couple of episodes of The Crown waiting at home that she’d been meaning to catch up on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading as always!  
> more coming later, i promise.


	13. breathe me in, breathe me out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day thirteen of twenty four: idk i just wanted to write something about tobin's shorts lmao  
> [preath]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> like my entire life this is a whole ass mess  
> idk man i just wanted to write something about The Shorts™ so i did  
> anyways hope you enjoy it.

Tobin had a collection of really ugly shorts, a whole wardrobe full of them in fact. There were some with ridiculous animal prints, some that were soccer shorts from all the teams that she liked. Thorns, PSG, Arsenal—— the list really did go on and on.

  
  
  
  


Christen had only realised just how many pairs of ugly shorts she owned once she had moved in with her.

  
  
  
  


It was ridiculous and she told her it was ridiculous.

  
  
  
  


That didn’t stop her from buying more, though. Christen had threatened her on more than one occasion that she would start throwing them out behind Tobin’s back if she didn’t stop it.

  
  
  
  


The problem was that over time Christen grew quite attached to the mass collection of ugly shorts that Tobin had hoarding in her closet. She didn’t know what it was because just looking at them in the closet, they really did look like the ugliest things she’s ever seen. But somehow, whenever Tobin wore them they looked good. Really good.

  
  
  
  


Never in her life did she ever think that she would find a pair of shorts sexy but when Tobin was involved, that’s just how things panned out.

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


Christen growled in frustration.Today was the first day back training with the United States Women's National Soccer Team. They had a lot to focus on, with the Olympics next year. They were all still riding on the high of winning the World Cup but there was still a lot to be done.

  
  
  
  


Christen had arrived at camp ready to get stuck in and show Vlatko Andonovski her worth but Tobin had been winding her up all day. She had stolen the ball off her numerous times, she’d lost count how many times she’d nutmegged her and every time she tried to talk to her team, the usually quiet Tobin Heath took it upon herself to talk over her and interject when it wasn’t needed.

  
  
  
  


As they left the training ground that evening, Christen zeroed in on Tobin, she watched her with narrow eyes as her fists clenched at her sides in frustration and anger.

  
  
  
  


‘What the hell was your problem, today?’

  
  
  
  


Christen snapped, unable to take the growing tension in her body anymore. Her nose scrunched up and her lips pulled tight in anger and frustration.

  
  
  
  


‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

  
  
  
  


Tobin spoke in a nonchalant tone which only made Christen angrier.

  
  
  
  


‘As if you don’t know what you’ve been doing, Tobin.’ Christen huffed as she walked closer to her.

  
  
  
  


‘You’ve done nothing but wind me up all day!’

  
  
  
  


She clenched her teeth as she let out an annoyed huff.

  
  
  
  


‘Oh, for god sake Chris——’

  
  
  
  


Tobin rolled her eyes dramatically about to go on a spiel of something or another but Christen didn’t let her talk anymore.

  
  
  
  


‘Shut up.’

  
  
  
  


She growled with a fire in her eyes.

  
  
  
  


Christen glanced down at the ugly yellow shorts that Tobin changed back into before they left the training ground. The same ugly yellow shorts that she had worn during the ticker tape parade when they won the World Cup, the same ugly yellow shorts that she had threatened to throw out behind Tobin’s back. She never would, of course. But it was a nice thought sometimes.

  
  
  
  


She wet her lips before stalking closer, gripping hands around her biceps and pulling her the rest of the way towards her. She paused for a moment, her heated eyes flicking between Tobin’s startled eyes and plump lips before she leaned in to press her lips firmly against hers.

  
  
  
  


Christen let out all of her day’s anger and frustration into the kiss, her hands still clenched tightly around Tobin’s rippling biceps. She pulled back just slightly, to breathe. Her eyes flicked down to Tobin’s pink soft lips before she pressed her lips back on her and walked them both backwards until their bodies slammed against the wall behind them.

  
  
  
  


Tobin let out a startled squeal at the uncharacteristic action from Christen but she wasn’t about to complain. Instead, she curled an arm around Christen’s slim waist, keeping their bodies firmly pressed together and returning the hungry kiss with pressure of her own.

  
  
  
  


She slid her leg between Christen’s and pushed her bare thigh up slightly to nudge at her crotch, her own silk shorts riding up in the process.

  
  
  
  


Christen let out a breathy moan, her lips still firmly glued to Tobin’s before she pushed back more forcefully, her face flushed and her breathing heavy.

  
  
  
  


‘Fuck, not here.’

  
  
  
  


She muttered, her eyes glancing around anxiously as she just realised what they were doing and where they were.

  
  
  
  


‘But when we get home... you’re gonna get it.’

  
  
  
  


Christen promised with a threatening tone and a salacious smirk before turning on her heel as she began to walk towards the car park.

  
  
  
  


A returning smirk pulled at the side of Tobin’s lips as she watched the sway of Christen’s hips as she walked away, the curve of her ass. She quickly shook herself out of her daze and began to follow her back to the car. This should be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading u lil legends!  
> more coming soon <3


	14. lost and found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> day fourteen of twenty four: domestic fluff  
> [ana x merel]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is for mariaberserk and mariaberserk only  
> sorry if this isn't true to them or w/e i still don't rly know anything about them ahsjfhsdkf

One cold December, as the snow spilled from the sky like sifted flour, Ana and Merel’s dog, Milo, shared a look. Ana and Milo shared a look of complete confusion as Merel shot in through the front door, kicking the snow hastily off of her boots, carrying a takeout bag and something bundled up in her coat.

  
  
  
  


Ana put Club de Cuervos on mute, turning toward what she thought to be a slight yelping sound coming from the suspicious bundle under Merel’s coat. 

  
  
  
  


‘Uh, Merel…’ Ana drew out slowly.

  
  
  
  


‘What is that?’

  
  
  
  


‘Taco Bell.’ Merel replied simply, placing the bag on the counter alongside her keys.

  
  
  
  


‘You said either that or Pizza Hut and I was really in the mood for tacos tonight.’

  
  
  
  


Ana rolled her eyes. 

  
  
  
  


‘No, that.’ She pointed to the bundle inside her coat.

  
  
  
  


Merel sighed, unzipping her coat to reveal a small white dog, all wet and shivering in Merel’s arms. She pulled it close to her chest, her hand stroking over its fur with one hand as it let out little pitiful whines. 

  
  
  
  


‘Oh this?’

  
  
  
  


Milo climbed out of Ana’s lap, moving to perch on the arm of the couch, barking at the new dog.

  
  
  
  


Ana pulled Milo back, setting him on the other side of her. She scratched behind his ears, hoping to calm him down. 

  
  
  
  


‘Yeah, that.’

  
  
  
  


‘Well…’ 

  
  
  
  


Merel lifted a hand up to scratch the back of her neck.

  
  
  
  


‘I found her outside in the snowbank,’ she began, fumbling through a drawer. 

  
  
  
  


She pulled out a towel and wrapped the dog in it. 

  
  
  
  


‘She was just left there. No leash, no owner, nothing. So I brought her home.’

  
  
  
  


Merel looked down at the dog with a small pout. 

  
  
  
  


‘I had to. Just look at her.’ 

  
  
  
  


She brought the dog closer to her again, cradling it into her chest.

  
  
  
  


‘Oh, poor baby.’ 

  
  
  
  


Ana whined, shooting up from the couch to get a closer look at the dog. 

  
  
  
  


‘She probably got lost out there, probably blended in, didn’t you?’ 

  
  
  
  


She cooed at the dog, petting at her matted fur as she shivered in Merel’s arms, burying her face in Merel’s sweater.

  
  
  
  


‘She doesn’t have a collar.’ Ana noticed.

  
  
  
  


‘Yeah. I thought that was weird. Maybe she got out of it somehow. We should take her to the vet tomorrow morning, see if they have a file for her.’

  
  
  
  


‘Or maybe she’s got a chip in her.’ Ana added, grabbing another towel to dry her off. 

  
  
  
  


‘I’m sure someone’s worried sick about you.’ 

  
  
  
  


She said in a babying voice to the dog. 

  
  
  
  


‘We’ll find them, don’t worry sweetheart.’

  
  
  
  


Merel transferred the dog into Ana’s outstretched arms, watching as she squirmed a bit before settling in, Ana’s grin deafening as she scooped her up, bouncing her and quietly singing Noche De Paz to her while wandering around the kitchen as Merel unpacked the food.

  
  
  
  


They settled back into the living room, the little white dog in Ana’s lap as they ate and continued watching their show.

  
  
  
  


Merel decided to call the little white dog ‘Snowball’ for now.

  
  
  
  


Ana agreed, taking bites of her taco in between toweling off Snowball.

  
  
  
  


Milo lay in his bed, next to the couch, upset.

  
  
  
  


He did not care for Snowball one bit.

  
  
  
  


They began to see this when Snowball stood near the door, staring at Merel and Ana, who were still curled up on the couch, waiting for the next episode of Club de Cuervos to come on, before taking direct action and scurrying over to them.

  
  
  
  


Snowball sat down at their feet and began barking until Merel peered down at her.

  
  
  
  


You gotta go out?’ 

  
  
  
  


Snowball’s scurry toward the door and return to patiently waiting provided an answer.

  
  
  
  


Merel got up, much to Ana’s annoyance, as she now had no one to lay against, and gathered Milo’s extra collar and leash.

  
  
  
  


Milo rushed toward the door at the sound of the leash jingling, only to be disappointed when Merel ignored his frenzied advances, securing the collar around Snowball.

  
  
  
  


‘Wait, Merel, what if she gets off the leash again?’ 

  
  
  
  


Ana asked, folding her legs under herself, hanging over the arm of the chair. 

  
  
  
  


‘She’s real easy to lose out there.’

  
  
  
  


‘Right, right.’ 

  
  
  
  


Merel spun around, searching for something bright.

  
  
  
  


‘Here.’ 

  
  
  
  


Ana pulled a little bandana out of the cloth storage cube under the coffee table, a red one that was decorated with little cartoon reindeer and multicolored Christmas lights, which she bought for Milo last Christmas. 

  
  
  
  


She brought it over, sat herself in front of Snowball, and tied it around her neck. 

  
  
  
  


‘Now she’ll be bright enough to find.’

  
  
  
  


Merel nodded and opened the door, blocking Milo’s exit with her outstretched leg.

  
  
  
  


Merel came back in minutes later.

  
  
  
  


Milo did not care for Snowball wearing his bandana one bit.

  
  
  
  


So Milo peed on Merel’s knit hat, which had fallen off the hook by the front door.

  
  
  
  


Then Milo tipped over the bowl of water Ana had set out for Snowball, licking Ana’s ankle as she cleaned it up with her foot and a paper towel.

  
  
  
  


Then Milo booped Snowball on the head with his paw, trying to prod her out of his bed, before giving up and sitting on top of her, which Ana and Merel thought was adorable. They took many pictures to post on their social media feeds.

  
  
  
  


Then Milo sneezed in Snowball’s face, which was not inherently vindictive but seemed rude nonetheless.

  
  
  
  


But none of this seemed like a problem until Ana dozed off on the couch, half way through the season finale episode, snoring quietly, her back pressed against Merel’s chest, Merel’s arms wrapped around her waist, her chin resting on the crown of her head. Snowball, now dry and comfortable in their home, hopped up onto the couch, curling into Ana’s side.

  
  
  
  


Milo sprung up, barking at the sight, barking at another dog in his spot, standing his ground in front of the couch. Merel tried to shush him, watching as Ana stirred, realizing that he wouldn’t be quiet until she held him.

  
  
  
  


She picked him up, letting him lay next to her shoulder on the couch, rubbing his exposed belly, his little tail wagging again.

  
  
  
  


‘Don’t worry, baby,’ she whispered to Milo, breathing out a laugh. ‘You’re still our little man.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!  
> hope you enjoyed.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading this mess!! this gonna be a wild ride so strap yourselves in folks.
> 
> also pls comment if you liked it or if you didn't. lemme know your thoughts. 
> 
> ok thank u. love u. bye.


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